MIRA MESA, Calif. (KGTV) — “I woke up at 2:15 in the morning, and I heard a voice over a loudspeaker.”
Lainie Hardman was sleeping at her home in Mira Mesa on Saturday when she woke up to an alarming announcement.
“They said this is an emergency evacuation order. Please evacuate the area immediately,” Hardman said.
She tried to wake up her husband and daughter, but they wouldn't listen. Hardman assumed there was a wildfire nearby.
“I was in almost full panic mode. I gotta get the cats, carriers, dogs, food,” Hardman said.
The announcement continued for the next three hours. Hardman went through social media and saw posts from hundreds of other concerned residents, including Monica Nowak.
“Living in Mira Mesa, have you ever heard anything like that?
“Not like that; if it was, it was a helicopter," Nowak said. "Usually, it stops and goes away, and we go online and find the result.”
On Monday, the San Diego Police Department confirmed it was a malfunction with Miramar Air Station’s automated alert system.
Captain Michael Scaccia with the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar says he contacted their base police as well and no one from their PD mentioned information concerning the broadcast nor denied answering questions. They also reconfirmed they have no records of any broadcast coming from the base.
"I do believe after making a few calls that Lt Coontz from SDPD was the one who referenced us with the City Councilman’s office but no information was ever conveyed to them from us," said Scaccia.
“It was a little alarming to think what was actually happening," Nowak said. "If there was something putting my family in danger.”
“We need to do a better job getting information out to the public because it was frightening," Hardman said. "It was frightening.”
