Panic across LA region after erroneous wildfire evacuation warnings blasted out

As wildfires have raged throughout the Los Angeles region this week, the 10 million residents of LA County have stayed close to their phones, ready for text alerts from officials about whether to pack up their belongings and leave their homes urgently.

On Thursday afternoon, millions of LA-area residents received an evacuation warning that did not specify neighborhood or fire, even though there are at least three major fires burning in the county. It read as follows:

"Emergency Alert.