Photo from Westfield Santa Anita parking lot taken by Matt Krantz, click to enlarge
Posted 1/16/14 – The Colby fire, which started in the vicinity of Glendora Mountain Road and the Colby Truck Trail in the hills behind Glendora early this morning, has now burned 1,709 acres (as of the last update of the InciWeb website http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3766/ at about 3pm). There are more than 500 fire personnel fighting it from departments throughout the state.
However, Sierra Madre is not burning. For those of you who are out of town that check this site for Sierra Madre news, you can rest easy, for now at least. Winds have died down and as of the update they were at about 5mph. The big problem is that there have been a lot of references in the news media and social media to Sierra Madre Ave., some of which have not actually included the word Avenue, so some people are thinking that the fire is in the hills of Sierra Madre. It’s not.
If it heads this way, rest assured I’ll be covering it more extensively. I have been tweeting on the News Net’s twitter account, so that may be a place to check for more frequent reports from me. Follow us at @SMNewsNet.
The following is information Provided by the LA County Sheriff’s Dept. about mandatory evacuations, school closures, shelter locations, and road closures:
SHELTERS (OPEN)
• American Legion (159 N. Cullen Ave., Glendora, CA 91741)
• Glendora High School (1600 E. Foothill Blvd., Glendora, CA 91741) – American Red Cross
• Duarte Community Center (1600 Huntington Drive, Duarte, CA 91010) – City of Duarte
ANIMAL SHELTERS
• Memorial Park (320 N. Orange Ave., Azusa, CA 91702)
• Pasadena Humane Society ASPCA (361 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, CA 91107)
• Inland Valley Humane Society (500 Humane Way, Pomona, CA 91766)
EVACUATIONS (Mandatory issued by Sheriff’s Department)
• North of Sierra Blvd. between West of Glendora Mountain Rd. and East of Highway 39
ROAD CLOSURES (“Hard” – Only first responder vehicles are allowed in the areas)
• North of Sierra Madre Blvd. between Lorraine and Highway 39
SCHOOL CLOSURES for 1-16-14 (Glendora Unified School District)
• Cullen Elementary School
440 N. Live Oak Ave., Glendora, CA 91741
SCHOOL CLOSURES for 1-16-14 (Glendora Unified School District) – Continue
• La Feta Elementary School
547 W. Bennett Ave., Glendora, CA 91741
• Sellers Elementary School
500 N. Lorraine Ave., Glendora, CA 91741
• Goddard Middle School
859 E. Sierra Madre Ave., Glendora, CA 91741
• Sanburg Middle School
819 W. Bennett Ave., Glendora, CA 91741
PUBLIC SAFETY MESSAGE IN REGARDS TO WILD ANIMALS
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department wants to remind residents to be aware of wild animals that may be driven from their habitat due to the Colby Fire. These wild animals may be heading towards fire impacted communities.
Los Angeles County residents and businesses, including persons with disabilities and others with access and functional needs, may call 211 LA County for emergency preparedness information, and other referral services. The toll-free 2-1-1 number is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week. 211 LA County services can also be accessed at http://211la.org. To register for the Specific Needs Awareness Planning program please go to https://snap.lacounty.gov. For additional disaster/emergency preparedness information, please access http://lacoa.org and/or http://espfocus.org.
Did the smoke and the smells when you went outside this morning remind you of 2008? How are you following the news? Social media or traditional media? Feel free to post a comment.