Raise Your Hand if Your Phone Gave You a Mini Heart Attack Tonight

Did anyone else’s heart leave their body for a second? 😳

At 7:06 p.m., phones across a surprisingly large area of Humboldt and Mendocino counties simultaneously erupted with a message that told us to calm down and at the same time run for our lives. The first part said,

“CANCEL Evacuation Order” 

…and…then immediately following,

“Wildfire in the Covelo-Agency Fire area, East of Mina Rd to Agency Road. Do not delay, Evacuate Immediately.”

Apparently both messages tried to occupy the same alert at once.

One reader said an entire restaurant suddenly lit up with alarms.

This reporter lives more than two hours from the Agency Fire and my phone still screamed at me.

Fortunately, the second part was outdated–it just showed the order that was being canceled. The fire was reported contained at 7:12 p.m.

If you got the alert, where were you? Did your whole room start chirping at once? We’re especially curious if anyone was in a public place when everyone’s phones erupted.

Editor’s note: Please consider this post in the spirit of humor in which it was made. As a member of those who have occasionally hit “send” a little too soon,  I’ve made enough memorable mistakes over the years that I have no business throwing stones. Sometimes you just have to laugh though, before you fix it, and move on.