In an incident causing widespread confusion, an evacuation warning alert created not for everyone, meant for residents near the Kenneth Fire in specific areas such as Calabasas, Agoura Hills, and West Hills, was mistakenly sent out to nearly 10 million Los Angeles County residents, and some in neighboring counties. As Patch reported, the false alarm came Thursday afternoon after which a correcting message was dispatched roughly 20 minutes later.

Continuing the chain of events, County Supervisor Janice Hahn said, as per CBS News, "I have been informed the evacuation warning that many of us just received on our phones was mistakenly issued countywide due to a technical error." The alert, aimed to be as compact as possible, was influenced by factors such as the phone's registered location, mistakenly reaching a swath of the population.

Kevin McGowan, Director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, issued a statement clarifying the intent of the alert. "An evacuation order for residents near the Kenneth Fire currently burning in West Hills was mistakenly issued to nearly 10 million County residents along with some residents of neighboring counties," McGowan told CBS News. He emphasized the county's commitment to accurate information dissemination amidst the wildfires that have spiked anxiety among the residents.