False evacuation alert sent to some residents in northern Minnesota Wednesday morning, officials say

(FOX 9) - The state Homeland Security and Emergency Management division mistakenly sent a false evacuation alert to the residents in several northern Minnesota communities Wednesday morning.

The alert was part of HSEM’s weekly internal test of its emergency alert system and was not intended to be delivered to the public, Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bruce Gordon told FOX 9. 

The message, which instructed residents to evacuate, was sent to portions of Aitkin, Carlton, Cass, Pine and St. Louis counties. According to the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, the portion of the message saying, “this is a test,” was cut off, further complicating matters. 

HSEM says there is no emergency in those areas. 

Gordon said officials are investigating whether it was human or mechanical error that caused the alert to be sent beyond the test environment.