Power returns to Glendale residents

Power has been restored to nearly 300 Glendale Water and Power customers who were without it since Wednesday night’s windstorm, officials said.

Power was returned to many residents late Saturday night.

“There are a few customers that still have power out but we’re continuing to work with those residents,” said Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz, adding that power boxes were not properly working for those residents.

“Some of them will have to get their own electricians to make repairs,” he said.

The number of those without power was unknown as of Sunday afternoon.

Glendale Water and Power serves 84,000 residents and much of the sustained power failure was due to broken electricity poles and fallen trees that knocked down power lines.

The Santa Ana winds are supposed to return Sunday night, and though they may not be as strong as last week’s windstorm, Lorenz cautioned residents living in neighborhoods with old trees and power lines.

“Just a little bit [of wind] could cause us problems,” he said. “Those trees that didn’t come down may have suffered some damage and a little bit of wind could take them down.”

He stressed that residents should be prepared.

“If it’s not a windstorm, it’s going to be an earthquake. You have to fend for yourself,” he said.

In some Glendale neighborhoods, the city’s Neighborhood Services division delivered generators to a dozen elderly residents who live alone with no nearby relatives.

For emergency purposes, the city’s parks and fire departments maintain an ongoing list of elderly residents who live alone or use electrically generated machines for their well being.

“If people out there are not on that list, we’d like to know,” Lorenz said.

On Friday, an 86-year-old woman who did have electricity was trapped inside her home due to a pile of palm fronds and other debris that stood four feet tall outside her door. Neighborhood Service representatives spent four hours cleaning the damage, Lorenz said.

“Although we’re not responsible for cleaning individual properties or trees down or electrical out, once we got our service back up a lot of them went out of way to make sure people were taking care of,” he said.

FYI:

To report non-emergency alerts of fallen trees, limbs or signs, call (818) 548-3700. An online service request can also be submitted through the city’s website.

There are currently six Glendale locations in which the city has placed roll-off boxes for residents to drop off vegetation found on properties, streets and sidewalks.

Drop off locations include:

Dunsmore Park at 4700 Dunsmore Ave.

Montrose Park at 3529 Clifton Place

Babe Herman Park at 1726 Canada Blvd.

Griffith Manor Park at 1551 Flower St.

Mount Carmel Drive at Mt. Carmel and Holly Drive

Integrated Waste Management Yard at 548 W. Chevy Chase Drive.

The city’s Neighborhood Services Department’s Property Clean Up Pros staff will remove vegetation and trim trees at a reduced cost.

Call (818) 548-3700

-- Kelly Corrigan, Times Community News