Earthquake

A local specialist is hoping to help a growing number of Haitian amputees by sending prostheses to the nation, which was devastated by a magnitude-7.0 earthquake last month. Spencer Doty, president of New Mexico-based Active Life, which was founded in Glendale, was spurred on by reports about Haitian amputees. Doty’s collection efforts will end Friday as he hopes to send a shipment of used prosthetics equipment to the shaken nation, he said. While the need for prostheses is expected to increase in Haiti as more amputations occur, parts for the devices are expensive, said Doty, whose organization specializes in prosthetics and orthotics.

Marshall Allen LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- Seismologist Lucy Jones has helped La Canada Flintridge take steps toward earthquake safety, and will now turn her eye toward the state with her appointment to the Seismic Safety Commission. The commission serves to improve earthquake safety measures in California. As an independent voice, it advises a variety of agencies to stimulate earthquake risk reduction and management. The commission includes people representing many other fields dealing with earthquake safety.

Darleene Barrientos The latest natural disasters to devastate the area have been primarily wildfire-related, prompting residents to clear brush around hillside homes. But residents need to remember Glendale is in the middle of earthquake country, too, officials said. Preparing for an earthquake is as easy as putting away some bottled water and securing a house's water heater, said Robert Reynoso, emergency services director for the Glendale-Crescenta Valley Red Cross.

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE -- The strong temblor that shook the Seattle area on Tuesday served to remind some locals about the importance of earthquake preparedness. The 6.8-magnitude earthquake injured at least 29 people but no one was killed, according to news reports. "If there was a reminder that we need to take[earthquake preparedness] seriously, there it is," said Steve Hodgson, assistant superintendent of business services for the Glendale Unified School District.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca assured foothill residents Thursday they are well protected by local deputies and fire department response teams in case of a large earthquake. Baca spoke to an audience of about 25 people at the Crescenta Valley Town Council meeting at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station. "There's a pretty comprehensive mutual plan in place now," Baca said. "We have a mutual disaster plan now for every imaginable problem, whether its water, an earthquake or a terrorist-related event."

A reader wants to know where the red brick Methodist Church pictured in the last column stood. The sanctuary was built in 1917 at the corner of Kenwood Street and Wilson Avenue and was covered in a red-brick veneer. In 1929, a five-story education building with a gothic tower was constructed next to it, and both buildings were then covered with a light-colored stucco to unify the two buildings. The 1971 earthquake greatly damaged the sanctuary and it had to be demolished.

Hours after I suggested that an earthquake in our area could have the same type of aftermath as hurricane, the Los Angeles Times ran a couple of articles supporting this opinion. One of them compared the 1906 San Francisco earthquake with the effects of Hurricane Katrina and found many similarities: death and destruction, obviously, but also looting, mayhem and fires. The fires, in fact, were responsible for the widespread destruction of the city.

Earthquakes probably shook California today. They may not have been large, but they were all significant because they release pressure from faults, scientists say. With the help of an airborne radar system, scientists at NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge are studying faults throughout the state to create a type of earthquake map that will allow them to get a better understanding of which faults are most active and which are...

     The Great Southern California Shake Out is one week away and participants are getting ready. The Shake Out is a planned weeklong series of special events that will help the public understand how important it is to be ready for the “big one.” The mock quake is set to hit Southern California on Nov. 13 at 10 a.m. Scientists, including Dr. Lucy Jones, the chief scientist from the Multi Demonstration Project for Southern California,...

GLENDALE — At 11:42 a.m. Tuesday, officials at the City Hall campus got to witness a $13-million seismic retrofit project undergo the “ultimate test” before it was even completed. The magnitude 5.4 earthquake centered in Chino Hills rattled more nerves than it caused damage on Tuesday, but for crews wrapping up work on a nearly two-year project to upgrade the seismic defenses of the four-story Municipal Services Building, it provided a rare opportunity to see the new system in action.