WEA

The county used its WEA system and Alert LA County messaging program as the “primary communication methods,” to issue urgent and timely evacuation alerts during the L.A. firestorm, according to a statement from the county’s Coordinated Joint Information Center.

And that is in addition to the county’s WEA notices and police officers on the streets, said Lisa Derderian, a city spokesperson.

In 1984, CBS and WEA launched a rival series, titled The Hits, which focused on big American acts like Madonna, Prince and Bruce Springsteen.

The two nationwide systems — the Emergency Alert System, or EAS, and Wireless Emergency Alerts, or WEA — are “critical tools” that save lives and allow people to protect property when natural disasters, acts of terrorism and other threats to public safety strike, Edwards added.

The process involves two parts: a 30-minute signal sent to radios and televisions as part of EAS, and a similar one sent to all consumer cell phones as part of the WEA system.