the battle of los angeles

Though swiftly discounted as a false alarm in the wake of real raids, the response of civil defence authorities on this day in 1942, less than three months after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by Imperial Japan and a day after a mostly failed bombardment of a oil refinery in Santa Barbara, highlighted the course of panic and pandemonium that took hold of a besieged public.
Subsequent investigations concluded a stray weather balloon drew the crossfire and mounting peer pressure caused all the anti-aircraft barrages in the area to direct all their ammunition towards the skies as a means to at least partially alleviate some of the stress and fear that they were experiencing. Prior to the event, air-raid sirens blared constantly and blackouts and radio silence were enforced by zealous mobs. A contingent of soldiers were stationed on the Disney studios lot to protect surrounding Hollywood from attack and turned sentiment towards suspicion that eventually manifested with the detention of thousands of Japanese-Americans.