diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/alerts/AlertsStore.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/alerts/AlertsStore.java
index 874eedbd4c4..01f5df401db 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/alerts/AlertsStore.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/alerts/AlertsStore.java
@@ -157,6 +157,7 @@ public class AlertsStore extends AbstractComponent {
                     loadAlerts();
                 } catch (Exception e) {
                     logger.warn("Failed to load alerts", e);
+                    alertMap.clear();
                     return false;
                 }
                 templateHelper.checkAndUploadIndexTemplate(state, "alerts");
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/alerts/actions/AlertActionManager.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/alerts/actions/AlertActionManager.java
index 326e79b67cd..34c05ff09ed 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/alerts/actions/AlertActionManager.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/alerts/actions/AlertActionManager.java
@@ -123,6 +123,7 @@ public class AlertActionManager extends AbstractComponent {
             loadQueue();
         } catch (Exception e) {
             logger.error("Unable to load unfinished jobs into the job queue", e);
+            actionsToBeProcessed.clear();
             return false;
         }
         templateHelper.checkAndUploadIndexTemplate(state, "alerthistory");