Glenoaks Canyon Wildfire Response & Preparedness Meeting Tonight

The Glendale Fire Department will hold a community meeting on Glenoaks Canyon Wildfire Response & Preparedness on Wednesday, December 14, 2022 from 6 to 8 pm at Glenoaks Elementary.  The following topics will be presented:

•  Glenoaks Canyon Wildfire History

•  The Glendale Fire Department’s Wildfire Response to Glenoaks Canyon

•  Area Automatic Air & Mutual Threat Zone Aid

•  Evacuation Guidelines

•  Community Alerting

•  Brush Clearance Requirements in Glendale

•  Local & State Codes

•  Vegetation Management Inspection Process

Glenoaks Canyon Wildlife Response & Preparedness Meeting
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
6pm-8pm
Glenoaks Elementary School Auditorium

Glenoaks Canyon Evacuation Drill - 11/29/21 at 9:00am

[UPDATE] Please click here for a video message from Chief Lanzas of the Glendale Fire Department.

On Monday, November 29th at 9:00 AM, GOCHA and the City of Glendale are holding an emergency evacuation drill. Your participation in this drill will help emergency responders learn how to best assist us in a real emergency.

Glenoaks Canyon presents the challenge that there is only one way in and one way out and emergency teams want to learn how they can help us prevent a bottleneck at the canyon entrance. Please look for the three Evacuation Drill handouts that either have been delivered or will be delivered to your doorstep during the next couple of days or you can download them here.

The Evacuation Drill:  Canyon residents will be notified via text, voice message or email at 9:00 AM on Monday, November 29th. The notification will announce the start of the drill and give us instructions. Once the drill is completed we will be notified that we can return home. 

If you haven’t yet done so, please sign up for emergency notices (such as the practice one we will receive for our drill on Nov. 29th) at https://www.glendaleca.gov/government/departments/fire-department/emergency-preparedness and then click on the Emergency Alerts button and sign up. 

Thank you in advance for your participation in this important drill. 

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Disaster Preparedness Questionnaire Now Online

Given the current state of the world as we all face the Coronavirus pandemic, GOCHA thought it would be a good idea to give folks the option of filling out or updating their information for the canyon disaster preparedness program. Normally, this questionnaire is distributed every two years in the Echo, but now that the health and safety of canyon residents is at top of mind for all of us, we thought it would be a good idea to allow everyone to fill out information through the website.

You can access the questionnaire here:

Disaster Preparedness Questionnaire (https://www.glenoakscanyon.org/disaster-preparedness-questionnaire)

The information is completely voluntary and you can fill out as much or as little as you feel comfortable with. The information is kept completely confidential and is only shared with the Disaster Preparedness volunteers in the canyon.

A Message From GOCHA President Regarding the Coronavirus

To our Glenoaks Canyon Community,

I am writing you at a time when we as a Canyon, State, and Country are facing a situation that most of us have not encountered in our lifetimes. Such a crisis certainly comes with uncertainty, anxiety and fear. 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, one of the primary reasons that my wife and I have called Glenoaks Canyon our home for the last 20 years is because of the quality of the people who reside in this Canyon. It is during times like these that I would ask our wonderful Canyon residents to show their Glenoaks Canyon spirit to contact our elderly or immobile residents to make sure they have the resources they need to weather this crisis. Such contact can be made by a quick phone call or a knock on the door. I have already been informed by the Head of our Disaster Preparedness Program Isabelle Meyer that she and her volunteers are already do the same, but please do not rely solely on GOCHA to help our neighbors. I have heard that such preliminary contact has been very well received. Thank you,Isabelle, for this very kind gesture and your continued service to our Canyon.

While I fully understand that each of you must do what is best for you and your family, I would ask that you also show your Glenoaks Canyon spirit when you visit the local market and other establishments around town. Hopefully, we can work together to get through these very trying times, the worst of which may not yet be behind us. It certainly is wise to stock-up on needed essentials, but at a certain point such stocking-up can be at the detriment to your neighbors who are also in the same situation.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of GOCHA, I wish you all the best of health and resolve during these very trying times. I am hopeful and optimistic we can get through this crisis together.

 Rick Marquis
President, GOCHA

Safety Alert: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Watching the devastating fires that have been ravaging Southern California over the last month is a constant reminder of how vigilant we must be in our beautiful canyon. Fire safety is of the utmost importance to all of us.

That is why GOCHA wants to alert you to a massive recall on Kidde fire extinguishers. This recall affects almost 38 million fire extinguishers manufactured between 1973 and 2017. You can read about the recall here: https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/kidde-recalls-fire-extinguishers-with-plastic-handles-due-to-failure-to-discharge-and#.Wfr3FggcNkQ.

The fire extinguishers can become clogged or require excessive force to discharge and can fail to activate during a fire emergency. In addition, the nozzle can detach with enough force to pose an impact hazard.

Kidde will replace any affected fire extinguisher at no cost. You can determine if your extinguishers are affected at this link: https://inmarmarketaction.com/kidde/Kidde284US/

Please check to see if you need to replace your fire extinguishers. If you ever need them, you want to know that they are working.

On behalf of GOCHA, we want to wish you a happy, healthy, and safe 2018!

La Tuna Fire Interactive Map

For up-to-date information about the La Tuna Canyon Fire, the below interactive map shows fire zone, evacuation areas, evacuation centers, etc.  While we are fortunate that the fire is not threatening our canyon, it is a good reminder to stay vigilant, clear your brush around your homes, and be prepared.

Be safe and stay cool.

Glenoaks Canyon Homeowners Association Annual Meeting 9/14

This is a reminder that the Annual Meeting for the Glenoaks Canyon Homeowner's Association (GOCHA) will be held on:

Wednesday, September, 14 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm

The meeting will be held at Joe Bridges Clubhouse at Glenoaks Park located at 2531 E. Glenoaks, Blvd., Glendale CA

Please join us to learn more about:

The Canyon's Disaster Preparedness Program Come listen to Isabel Meyer discuss the details of the Canyon's Disaster Preparedness Program. The Glendale Fire Department and Glendale Police Department will also be present to discuss how their efforts will dovetail with the Canyon's in the event of a fire or natural disaster.

The Scholl Canyon Landfill City Manager Scott Ochoa and Council Member Vartan Gharpetian have graciously offered to speak at our meeting to share with us the current status of affairs with the landfill.

Hope to see you there.

Emergency Water Barrels Available for Canyon Residents

Isabelle Meyer, who heads up our canyon's Disaster Preparedness program, has arranged a special offer for canyon residents. 55 gallon emergency water barrels will help you prepare for a natural disaster by providing enough clean drinking water for a family of four for 10 days. The barrels come with everything you need including the barrel, a pump, and the treatment drops that will allow you to store water for up to five years (after five years, just dump the water out and refill and retreat the new water for another five years).

Isabelle has been kind enough to arrange the sale and delivery to the canyon of 50 of these barrels so if you are interested, they will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Each barrel is selling for $82.50.

If you are interested, please call Isabelle Meyer at 818–242–4290.

Emergency Guide Posted

We have posted a comprehensive, 130 page Emergency Guide written by Isabelle Meyer on the site. This guide has everything you will need to get prepared for an emergency and help you be confident in what to do when an emergency happens.

You can find the guide on this site's Disaster Preparedness page.

We have also provided a link to download the guide here:

Emergency Guide

This guide covers everything from preparing for an emergency, to what you need to do after an emergency strikes. This is something that everyone should check out.

Please note that as this document is quite large, it may take some time to download.

Meeting Planned for Freeway Fire Aftermath

According to The818now.com, a meeting will be held Monday night at 8pm at the Joe Bridges Club House to discuss winter weather preparations for those residents effected by the Freeway Fire.

City officials announced plans to hold a meeting for residents who live near the footprint of a brush fire that swept along the hillsides above our canyon.

The meeting will go over winter weather preparations for potential debris flows. City officials will also brief residents on plans to put up concrete barriers, known as K-rails, in the Glenoaks Canyon neighborhood and where to pick up sandbags.

The public meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at the Joe Bridges Club House, 2531 E. Glenoaks Blvd.

For more information on the meeting, call (818) 548-3900. [the818now.com]