San Rafael Hills

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE -- A knock at the door brought Larry Myricks the news that he and his family might be in store for a devastating loss. One of his neighbors on the 1900 block of Los Encinos Avenue had come to warn him that a large fire was coming down the hillside behind his home. "All you could see was this huge, orange glow," Myricks said. "Driving away, seeing the fire on our side of the hill, watching the little hot spots pop up ... it did look we were going to probably lose everything."

Paul Anderson NO SHOW POLITOS Assemblyman Jack Scott made sure the hundreds of residents at a recent ceremony honoring firefighters who whipped the San Rafael Hills blaze knew that he organized the event. So it seemed kind of suspicious that his political rival for outgoing state Sen. Adam Schiff's seat wasn't at the ceremony. Neither Schiff nor Assemblyman Scott Wildman were at the event. When asked, Scott reassured a reporter that his aides called Wildman's office to invite him, but did not get a response.

Scholl Canyon dump in the San Rafael hills, which serves La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Glendale and Pasadena, could be expanded to extend its operating life beyond 2020. Glendale Public Works officials are looking at the possible change to delay the date by which trash might need to be shipped by train to regional landfills in Riverside and Imperial counties. The city is considering expanding the height or width of the landfill, or both, to expand the operation by as much as 15 years.

Buck Wargo GLENDALE -- As has been the case in Glendale's history, devastating fires often lead to heavy flooding. Glendale officials are taking steps to head off a repeat of history just a few weeks after the San Rafael Hills fire burned more than 500 acres. The Fire Department announced Tuesday a plan to protect Glendale homes, the Glendale Sports Complex and the Park Manor Reservoir from heavy rains that can lead to mudslides. Firefighters will be going door-to-door to visit dozens of Glendale homes on Saturday and Sunday to give advice on how to protect their properties.

The Glendale City Council will take up on Jan. 30 the proposed work plan to create a city trails master plan, with initial attention paid to the Verdugo Mountains. City consultant Jeff Weinstein outlined the proposal at a meeting of the Historical Society of Crescenta Valley. Weinstein, a veteran trail planner, said he is currently holding meetings with key city staff and trails organizations, to discuss process and goals for the effort. If the council approves the work plan, he will begin site visits, data collection and writing a draft report.

Buck Wargo ARCADIA -- A week after getting help from neighbors fighting a wildfire in the San Rafael Hills, Glendale fire crews are lending a helping hand in Arcadia. Two Glendale engine companies with four firefighters each responded Monday to the huge fire in the Angeles National Forest, and more firefighters are standing by if needed. Area cities have a mutual aid pact in which firefighters are sent to assist in emergencies. About 500 firefighters from 31 departments responded to Glendale last week to battle the San Rafael Hills fire.

Darleene Barrientos Not long after the smoky haze from wildfires raging in several parts of Southern California cleared from the horizon high in the San Rafael hills, Glendale Fire's Urban Forester Doug Nickles explained his arrival was to prevent the loss of homes in future brush fires. "It's not a question of if there will be a brush fire, it's a question of when," Nickles said. "When we have a major incident, it's OK for the brush to burn. But we don't want houses to burn."

Buck Wargo GLENDALE -- Glendale crews were standing by to deal with possible mudslides following a flash-flood watch issued for areas surrounding the San Rafael Hills fire. The National Weather Service based in Oxnard issued the flash-flood watch -- the potential for flooding -- for Sunday night and today. Two inches of rain were predicted to fall between Sunday and tonight in valley areas, and up to 4 inches in mountainous areas before the skies clear Tuesday, weather specialist Stuart Seto said.

Paul M. Anderson GLENDALE -- Glendale and L.A. County firefighters said goodbye to a valued friend this week. No, it wasn't another firefighter. It was the two Canadair 415s -- the SuperScooper firefighting aircrafts. The SuperScoopers helped Glendale and county firefighters extinguish the 524-acre San Rafael Hills blaze in December. "They really contributed in the final phases of the fire. It was good to have them on board because the wind picked up the next day," said Asst.

GLENDALE ? Two local trails will benefit from a $2-million rehabilitation program announced Tuesday. Glendale?s planned Catalina Verdugo Trail and La Cañada Flintridge?s Cherry Canyon trail will receive their respective allotments as part of a $2-million grant program announced by Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich. The money will help pay for improvements and enhancements, which officials said were much-needed due to an influx of hikers who are using the paths since the Station fire destroyed others.

When Doris and Jack Quinn moved into the Chevy Chase area in 1965, their home was surrounded by many others, including one of the oldest in the neighborhood, a brick house built by Tom and Valley Knudsen, of Knudsen Creamery fame. The Knudsens were living in Eagle Rock when the creamery was founded in 1919. As their business prospered, they began searching for a new home. This was about the time that 1,600 acres of canyon land known then as the San Rafael Hills opened for development.

RIVERWALK PROGRESS The City Council on Tuesday appropriated $102,500 from the California Department of Transportation for a master planning study and community outreach effort for the second and third phases of the project. WHAT IT MEANS The first phase of the project is still awaiting the completion of an easement and the receipt of state funding. A major portion of Phase II is being constructed as part of the flyover bridge at Fairmont Avenue. The remainder includes a connection with the first phase and pedestrian and bicycle bridges across the Verdugo Wash and Los Angeles River, finally connecting with Griffith Park.

The City Council on Tuesday will review the receipt of $150,000 in grant funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety to the Glendale Police Department for pedestrian education and speed enforcement activities. The funding will be used to pay for overtime hours for Glendale police and community service officers, support staff and supervisors when conducting education or speed enforcement. WHAT TO EXPECT The council is expected to approve the grant funding.

City dismisses landlord charges The city of Glendale has settled criminal charges with the owners of a Montrose apartment house over allegations of violation of tenants’ rights. The criminal case was dismissed after Starpoint Properties agreed to pay some $30,000 to tenants whose rents were raised in what the city called retaliation over charges of mistreatment by the management of the Valderas Drive property. Lawyers for Starpont said the settlement was not an admission of guilt, but an attempt to put the case behind them.

The Glendale City Council will take up on Jan. 30 the proposed work plan to create a city trails master plan, with initial attention paid to the Verdugo Mountains. City consultant Jeff Weinstein outlined the proposal at a meeting of the Historical Society of Crescenta Valley. Weinstein, a veteran trail planner, said he is currently holding meetings with key city staff and trails organizations, to discuss process and goals for the effort. If the council approves the work plan, he will begin site visits, data collection and writing a draft report.

Scholl Canyon dump in the San Rafael hills, which serves La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Glendale and Pasadena, could be expanded to extend its operating life beyond 2020. Glendale Public Works officials are looking at the possible change to delay the date by which trash might need to be shipped by train to regional landfills in Riverside and Imperial counties. The city is considering expanding the height or width of the landfill, or both, to expand the operation by as much as 15 years.

Jackson Bell The city's latest fire-prevention equipment looks more like a rudimentary science fair project than a sophisticated measuring device. Up in the San Raphael Hills, just a few hundred yards from the Glendale Police Shooting Range, sits a critical piece of firefighting equipment -- the Remote Automated Weather Station. The small station, an aluminum frame made up of pipes, is used to track the city's weather conditions, Glendale Fire Prevention Coordinator Doug Nickles said.

Jackson Bell As the Southland's deluge took a breather Tuesday morning, Glendale city workers rushed to keep a large hillside home from sliding off its foundation and tumbling down a steep slope into two other homes. Part of the hillside gave way under the four-story, multimillion-dollar home on Gladys Drive, causing the home to lose some of its support and sending an avalanche of mud onto a smaller home on Glenmore Boulevard. Firefighters and other city workers scrambled Monday afternoon to repair water and gas lines that snapped when a mudslide ripped away parts of the hillside home's supports, officials said.