GOCHA Annual Meeting Wednesday, Sept 11, 7:30pm

We hope everyone can attend the Glenoaks Canyon Homeowner's Association ("GOCHA") Annual Meeting on Wednesday September 11th at 7:30 pm. The meeting will be held at Glenoaks Park in the Joe Bridges Clubhouse.

Between the recent “Colorado Fire” last month that threatened many homes in the canyon and the ongoing developments at the Scholl Canyon Landfill, it is more important than ever to come together as a community.

Please join us at the Annual Meeting to discuss lessons learned from the recent fire and the steps GOCHA is taking in preparation for potential future events in conjunction with our local fire and police departments.

The GOCHA team has also put together an informative presentation about the proposed Biogas Project at the Scholl landfill which has us concerned for a number of reasons. Our two presenters are well qualified for this role. Board Member Marie Freeman has become a recognized expert on all aspects of the Scholl Canyon Landfill and has done an outstanding job keeping us informed about what is going on. Board Member Justin King, fairly new to the Board, has quickly come forward at this time to offer his expertise as an environmental scientist. We are so proud that their recent presentation to the Glendale Environmental Coalition won GOCHA not only their support, but the support of the Sierra Club! This presentation will be enlightening and hopefully will inspire you to get involved in this project that involves all of us here in the canyon.

I look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday night. And if you can’t attend, please consider contributing to our Disaster Preparedness Program or the Landfill Legal Defense Fund.

GOCHA Annual Meeting
September 11, 2019
7:30 pm
Joe Bridges Clubhouse

Wildfire Town Hall

Assembly Member, Laura Friedman’s office is hosting a “Wildfire Town Hall” meeting on Saturday, May 18, 2019 at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital.

At this event, you can learn about safety, home hardening and wildfire prevention practices from experts, first responders and others.

Wildfire Town Hall
Saturday, May 18, 2019
11am-12pm Open house with firefighting agencies and experts
12pm-1pm Panel discussion on preparation and prevention

USC Verdugo Hills Hospital
Council Rooms A&B
1812 Verdugo Rd.
Glendale, CA

 

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.

Small brush fire quickly extinguished near Canyon

According to the Glendale News-Press, a small brush fire  started on Saturday afternoon along the hillside along the eastbound 134 and northbound 2 around 2:15pm. LA Fire department was dispatched and the fire was quickly put out. The fire burned about a quarter acre.

Its that time of year again. Everyone please be vigilant. Lots of dry brush and high winds this time of year.

Small brush fire quickly extinguished near Glendale - Glendale News Press

A Big Thank You to the Firefighters Who Battled Friday's Fire

On behalf of all of us living in Glenoaks and Chevy Chase Canyons, I would like to thank all the brave firefighters, helicopter pilots, police, and other service personnel that so efficiently and effectively put out Friday's fire. They did an incredible job and it was truly enlightening watching their efforts in saving our homes and keeping all of us safe.  

2nd Annual National Night Out

Come enjoy a summer's evening and hang out with your neighbors at the 2nd annual National Night Out.

Tuesday, August 7th

6pm - 8pm

Glenoaks Canyon Park

Hope to see you there!

New City Ordinance Adopted

Thanks to the efforts of GOCHA, the Glendale PD, the Glendale FD, and the City Council, a new ordiance was passed closing "fire hazard severity zones" or open hillsides between the hours of 10pm and 6am. This will hopefully curb partying and other activities in the hillsides that pose potential fire hazards. The ordiance is not just for our canyon but for all of Glendale. Here is the ordinance:

9.20.165 Closure of specified public property and facilities. No person, except peace officers and city employees, shall be or remain on, between the hours of ten p.m. on any day and four a.m. of the following day, the property as described in this section which is owned, operated, administered or maintained by the city unless that person is on the property pursuant to officially sanctioned city business, or such person is engaged in a scheduled activity of the city, or the person has written authorization of the director or city employee who has responsibility for the property: A.      Any public park, playground, recreation facility, or recreation facility grounds;

B.      The Civic Center Square;

C.      The libraries and library grounds;.

D.      Any fire hazard severity zone, or hillside open space area, access to which is controlled by means of a gated fire road, except that persons may enter the property after Four a.m. on any day for the purpose of jogging or bicycling thereupon. SECTION 2.  If any portion of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance shall be invalid or unenforceable to any extent, the remainder of this ordinance shall not be affected thereby and shall be enforced to the greatest extent permitted by law.

City Council Ponders Curfew Measures

UPDATE: CBS News also did a story about the curfew measure. Check out the report below.

You can also read the online CBS report here.

[Glendale News-Press] Thanks to the efforts of GOCHA, a curfew measure for Glendale fire trails has been put before City Council. The City Council will vote on the curfew measure at its next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, March 8 at City Hall. Read the full article at the Glendale News-Press site (via: Glendale-News-Press).

GOCHA Board Establishes Fire Prevention Committee - Needs Your Help

Irresponsible activity, including drinking and smoking, has continued in the Glenoaks Canyon hills at night.  Determined to prevent a recurrence of the kind of wildfire that struck our hills one year ago, the GOCHA Board has established a Fire Prevention Committee to study this problem and to consider various options with the assistance of officers from the Glendale Police and Fire Departments.  The Committee has concluded that the most direct and possibly most effective option is to make the hills off-limits to nighttime visitors. Believing that virtually all visitors entering the hills after 10:00 p.m. do so for purposes inconsistent with recreational uses envisioned by the City, the Committee proposes closure of the hills from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. (or 5:00 a.m).  Appropriate signs would then be posted at the entrances of dirt fire roads and trails in the Canyon.

We understand that the City would like buy-in by affected residents before approving any proposal of this kind.  Consequently we are continuing to canvass Glenoaks Canyon residents about this matter.  If you have not had the opportunity to respond to a questionnaire distributed to certain residents earlier in the year, you may wish to complete the questionnaire provided below:

Hill Closure Survey

Please mail your responses to:

GOCHA P.O. Box 91226 Glendale, CA  91226