Kevin McGowan, director of L.A. County's Office of Emergency Management, said that the problem was caused by a software system glitch.

"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.

Emergency managers in Los Angeles apologized Friday after false evacuation alerts sparked panic in a city on edge over an unprecedented wildfire disaster.

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.

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.