Phones across Los Angeles County and elsewhere rang out Tuesday night, Nov. 11, when a test alert mistakenly was sent by South Pasadena officials to a much larger geographic area than they intended.

“This is a test of the South Pasadena WEA (Weather Emergency Alert) system,” the alert, which was sent around 5:50 p.m., read. “There is no emergency.”

Public safety officials sent the alert, which appeared to have pinged most cellphones in Los Angeles County, said Jennifer Colby, a spokesperson for the City of South Pasadena. On Reddit, some users said they received the alert as far away as Orange and San Luis Obispo counties.

The city’s public safety officials are looking into the issue and determining why the alert was sent to a far wider region than intended, Colby said.

In January, the

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