"No human being" sending out erroneous fire alerts, officials claim

LOS ANGELES - The top emergency management official for Los Angeles County says he "can’t express how sorry" he is that residents keep getting false or incorrect emergency alerts on their phones as wildfires rage out of control.

L.A. County Emergency Management Director Kevin McGowan led off Friday morning’s fire update press conference with an apology, insisting that a spurious technical issue was to blame.

"There is an extreme amount of frustration, anger, fear with regards to the erroneous messages that have been being sent out through the wireless emergency alert system across L.A. County," he offered. "I can't express enough how sorry I am for this experience."

What we know:

Erroneous emergency alerts were sent out Thursday afternoon and early Friday, falsely warning recipients that an evacuation warning had been issued for their area.

It took the county 22 minutes to send out a correction, leaving jittery residents in limbo as they tried to figure out if the alert was accurate.

Another erroneous alert with identical warning text was issued early Friday morning.

What we don't know:

It’s not clear why the alerts are going out to the wrong locations. McGowan said there is "no one sitting at a desk" sending out bad alerts, instead blaming the technology layers within the system.

But he did not go into details about that system or any safeguards that could be in place to prevent such issues, adding only that his team was working with FEMA experts to solve the problem. When pressed by FOX 11's Bob DeCastro, McGowan attempted to explain the sequence through which an alert gets sent, but did not provide much clarity on the problem.

McGowan also blamed "bleedover" between cell towers for inaccurate geographic reach and said they were working to improve that.

What they're saying:

"I want to express my deep frustration with the alert system that is causing confusion and additional panic for our communities at this time of extreme crisis. Whatever the cause, it is unacceptable and it is being addressed now by the county's Office of Emergency Management. As Director McGowan described, we'll be investigating what happened, how, and why, at every level in our exhaustive after-action process to ensure it is corrected." – L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath

California Fires latest

The backstory:

Several fires are burning out of control across Southern California, fed by unusually dry conditions and fierce winds. As of Friday morning, the five major fires had consumed 35,999 acres and over 10,000 structures. 

At least five people have been killed but officials expect that number to grow, and evacuation orders are in place for thousands of people.

The largest blaze, the Palisades Fire, is only 8% contained after ripping across over 20,000 acres and devastating entire neighborhoods.

The Eaton Fire is 3% contained and has burned nearly 14,000 acres. A do-not-drink order is in place for Pasadena residents in the area of that blaze.

What you can do:

Officials insist that residents in and around the fire zones should remain ready to evacuate if the word comes, and not disable the emergency alert messages on their phones.

RELATED: What to do before you evacuate during California wildfires

If you get an alert, you should verify the evacuation warning using the maps posted on the Cal Fire website, the Alert LA website, or by dialing 201.

The mapping is accurate even if the alerts may not be, McGowan said.

"I implore everyone to not disable the messages on your phone. This is extremely frustrating, painful, and scary," he added. "But these alert tools have saved lives during this emergency. Not receiving an alert can be a consequence of life and death."