Residents were already on edge as more fires erupted across the Los Angeles region, traumatising millions of people who feel that after four days there’s no end in sight.Then on Thursday afternoon came another jolt in the form of a text alert.This one was mistakenly sent to every cell phone in the county – home to about 10 million people – warning them the blaze was close and they should prepare to evacuate.Rebecca Alvarez-Petit was on a video work call when her phone started blaring. “An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued in your area,” the text message said.The sound echoed around her as each of her colleagues received the same startling message.”It was like a massive panic that I was watching in real-time,” she said.She and colleagues started researching and trying to see whether they were in imminent danger. Instant relief came in the form of a corrected alert telling them to disregard the warning but this soon gave way to newfound anger, she said.”We’re all on pins and needles and have been anxiously sitting by our phones, staring at the TV, having the radio going – trying to stay as informed as possible because there wasn’t a good system in place,” said Ms Alvarez-Petit, who lives in West Los Angeles. “And then this. It’s like – you have got to be kidding me.”The death toll from the wildfires has continued to climb with at least 10 people known to have died and that toll may grow.For many, the anxiety about saving lives and property has turned into a sense of frustration over the handling of the fires.A mayor’s frustrationOfficials have acknowledged some of the complaints, from hydrants running dry that hindered firefighting efforts to questions about preparedness and fire mitigation investment.Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass returned to the city from a pre-planned trip to Africa to find it on fire. She faced intense questions on Thursday about the region’s preparedness, her leadership in this crisis and the water issues that failed firefighters.”Was I frustrated by this? Of course,” Mayor Bass said, answering a question about water issues and whether the area was prepared enough. She noted that is an “unprecedented event”.Like other officials, she stressed the fires were able to spread on Tuesday because of strong winds – the same winds that prevented aircraft from dropping water or fire retardant on the blazes. She said urban water systems and neighbourhood fire hydrants are not built to handle dousing thousands of acres of fire.She noted there will be reviews of how the incident unfolded that will examine how officials and agencies handled it.”When lives have been saved and homes have been saved, we will absolutely do an evaluation to look at what worked, what didn’t work, and to correct or to hold accountable any body, department, individual,” she said. “My focus right now is on the lives and on the homes.”W …
