A wildfire evacuation alert was mistakenly sent to the smartphone of every resident in Los Angeles County, a region with more than 9 million people.

Wildfires are currently ripping across parts of Los Angeles. What started as a bush fire in Pacific Palisades – a neighbourhood east of Malibu – on Tuesday morning is now an out-of-control wildfire that continues to rage more than three days later.

There have been 10 deaths confirmed, with the fire causing hundreds of buildings to burn down and entire neighbourhoods to be razed to the ground. Evacuation orders by the Los Angeles Fire Department have been issued to nearly 180,000 residents across the county for safety reasons. A further 200,000 are under evacuation warning.

With anxiety levels among LA residents at an all-time high, on Thursday afternoon a wildfire evacuation alert was sent to the smartphone of every resident in Los Angeles County.

Making a loud echoing sound, the notification that appeared on their screens read: “An EVACUATION...