Fox News 11 chief meteorologist Adam Kreuger was left puzzled after alarms from people’s phones started blaring with evacuation orders in the broadcaster’s west LA studio
Los Angeles: Weather report interrupted as emergency alerts go off live on air
A weather forecaster delivering the evacuation status for scorched California was left dumbfounded mid-broadcast when his own studio received an urgent warning.
Wildfires have seared across the Golden State for the last six days, reducing homes scattered over tens of thousands of acres to ash and rubble, and displacing thousands living in the paths of six separate blazes. Officials have warned that the barely contained Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth, Archer, Hurst and Lidia infernos will continue to spread throughout the state, wafted onwards by strong winds.
Onlookers watching from outside California were given a taste of life inside the fire risk zone earlier last week when weather forecasters received orders to evacuate live on television. Fox News 11 chief meteorologist Adam Kreuger was interrupted mid-broadcast when he received a message from officials telling informing the studio people needed to flee for their safety.
Mr Kreuger was delivering a live update on which parts of Los Angeles were under mandatory evacuation orders when phones could be heard pinging across the Fox studios. He halts as the devices start blaring with the alarm sound, with the forecaster pausing to comment on “some type of alert”.
He pauses while his colleague reads out the emergency message from behind the camera, revealing how people are asked to respond to the growing threat. The message reads: “This is an emergency message from LA County Fire department, an evacuation warning has been issued in your area. Remain vigilant of any threats and be ready to evacuate, gather loved ones, pets and supplies.”
Mr Kreuger responded: “So these alerts come based on where you are, and here we are in west LA and we’re getting an alert. We’ll have to look into why.” Gesturing at the forecast map behind him, which shows areas in northern California currently under the same orders due to the Kenneth fire, he added: “It would not be from what we are talking about here, which is up to the north.”
The latest evacuation order issue for California was issued on Friday, and extends to part of the Interstate 405 highway and Encino Reservoir where it borders the I-405 freeway and famed Getty Center. Active evacuation alerts in the state currently affect 100,000 residents.
Some Californians have been told to prepare for a potential evacuation, including roughly 46,000 students at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Students were asked to ready to flee and “stay vigilant” following warnings regarding the Palisades fire, which is burning near the campus.
A warning for UCLA residents posted on the university website read: “This is NOT an evacuation alert. An evacuation warning has been issued to a zone adjacent to UCLA due to the Palisades fire. We are asking Bruins on campus to remain vigilant and be ready to evacuate, should the alert be extended to our campus.”
