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.

"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 designated to warn people of a fire northwest of downtown Los Angeles was sent county-wide, according to a local official. At the time, emergency management was monitoring the Kenneth Fire which triggered its own evacuations.