Glendale activates Emergency Operations Center as high winds knock down wires, cause outages

The City of Glendale activated its Emergency Operations Center to Level 2 on Jan. 7, 2025, in response to a severe wind event and a red-flag warning, city officials said during the Glendale City Council meeting.

City staff reported that crews have been working in the field since about 5 a.m. responding to a surge of storm-related incidents: roughly 20 downed wires, seven hazard investigations, three elevator rescues, 37 trees down, 29 downed limbs, and 98 dispatch calls. As of 5:30 p.m. the city reported 20 separate power outage incidents impacting an estimated 8,000 residents.

Officials said causes of outages included debris contacting power lines, wires blown together, tree branches, and Mylar balloons. Crews from Glendale Water and Power and Public Works were dispatched and the city reported coordination with Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) and Glendale Community College (GCC) partners.

The city advised residents to report downed wires or trees immediately to the appropriate departments and to enroll in emergency notification systems listed at glendaleca.gov. For the public, officials provided an email and phone contact for city communications: communications@glendaleca.gov and 818-545-4213.

City staff said the National Weather Service forecasted the worst of the winds from about 10 p.m. on Jan. 7 into the early morning of Jan. 8. Officials thanked first responders and public-works crews for working around the clock.

Ending: The council heard the operational update during its remarks section and encouraged residents to sign up for emergency alerts and to report hazards. No additional emergency declarations or evacuation orders were announced during the meeting.