Emergency evacuation alerts have gone off the rails, pinging people seemingly at random. Experts say that such errors can sow mistrust in the alert system, potentially endangering residents down the line.

Around 4:15 p.m., another alert was sent out by the the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management asking residents to disregard the previous alert, as it was only intended for the Kenneth fire, which erupted near West Hills bordering Los Angeles and Ventura counties earlier in the afternoon.

"It’s hard to see, because there’s so much pain and suffering,” said one local, who dropped off toys at the Westwood Recreation Center in West Los Angeles.

An alert to evacuate from the Los Angeles County Fire department Thursday afternoon appeared to have been sent in error.

Los Angeles County residents received an evacuation warning in error Thursday as another fire sparked that afternoon.

By Jorge Garcia, Rollo Ross and Maria Alejandra Cardona LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Fierce winds that have supercharged wildfires sweeping parts of Los Angeles finally eased on Friday night, bringing some relief to weary firefighters,

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While the message was intended for residents of Woodland Hills, officials say the registration location of the phones might have caused a wider distribution.