Monrovia City Manager's Update - September 30, 2020

Press release from the City of Monrovia:

September 30, 2020

Hello Monrovians,

When the Bobcat Fire entered Monrovia Canyon Park, firefighters used a defensive approach to protect buildings and structures, including the Nature Center, Ranger Station, cabins, and restrooms. The fire suppression tactics, which included controlled burns, burned a significant amount of brush in the park but all buildings remain standing with only smoke damage. Some portions of the park remain with plentiful greenery and shrubs, while others are left burned to a crisp. Popular hiking trails are no longer accessible and debris from high above is already rolling down the hills and landing on park trails. In some cases, staff is already noticing trees falling over since the fire. In total, about 278 acres of Monrovia Canyon Park is damaged while much more land area is damaged above the park, but still within the watershed area. With the need for ongoing damage assessments, insurance reviews and repairs, we anticipate the park will be closed for at least six months and possibly longer. During this time, to secure Monrovia Canyon Park, a fence has been installed and a chain lock has been set to secure the gate. Additionally, signs are posted as the area remains very dangerous.

The community will be relieved to know that the Hillside Wilderness Preserve suffered minimal burns and will be open to the public much sooner. Staff is installing replacement signage and fencing, where appropriate, but please know that popular trails within the Hillside Wilderness Preserve, including Lower Clamshell Trail, will soon be reopened.

On Tuesday, September 29, many residents may have seen a plume of smoke in the foothills above Monrovia. The brush that caught fire was burning within the already burned area. The Monrovia Fire Department, along with other fire departments, quickly responded to the incident. A helicopter was sent over the area and assessed that it was too far for the fire crew to gain access and the best approach was to let the brush burn itself out. Please know that as long as there is unburned brush, these flare ups will continue to happen for some time. If you do happen to see a flare up, please don’t panic and be sure to dial 911 to report the incident.

Sincerely,
Dylan

Help Document the Monrovia Canyon Park Recovery!

During the time Monrovia Canyon Park remains closed to the public, we want to include you all in the restoration and rebuilding efforts we are about to watch happen before our eyes! We will be sharing regular updates with the community of the recovery progress through photos and we want our local photographers involved. If you’re a photographer in the Monrovia area and would like to participate in this project or would like additional information, please send your interest to pio@ci.monrovia.ca.us. Also, we are coordinating to get some excellent aerial footage to boot. Keep your eyes out for future updates!

A Message Regarding Gifts, Donations and Gratuities

Firefighters, police officers, and all City staff members are proud to serve and protect Monrovia residents, businesses, and visitors. We are grateful for the outpouring of support and appreciation so many of you have shown in recent days. However, State laws and City policy strictly limit public employees’ ability to accept gifts in the course of our work. Although many Monrovians have kindly offered to purchase gift cards, meals, or other gifts to show their appreciation for the recent efforts of our firefighters and police officers, those individual employees are not permitted to accept gifts or gratuities in the course of their work. This rule helps ensure there is no appearance of favoritism or bias in the City’s provision of emergency services.

When our fire or police departments have received a donation of meals or treats, those gifts have been put out at the station for all personnel to share. However, to avoid putting our employees in the position of potentially violating State law or City policy, we request that Monrovians refrain from providing gift cards, or contributing to gifts for City personnel. Please feel free to reach out to staff in advance and ask whether a gift/donation is appropriate.

Instead of providing gifts to individual City employees, you might also consider making a donation to one of the many community organizations that provide support to Monrovians or to local Monrovia projects. Here are two examples –

Save the Grave Campaign
You could help restore the City’s very first fire engine! In 1916, the Monrovia Fire Department purchased a Seagrave fire engine, which served Monrovia and many other communities in Southern California until 1964. Monrovia resident, Susan Motander, purchased the vehicle in 2004 from a collector and donated it to the Monrovia Firefighters’ Association where they have been slowly working to raise funds to complete the project.

If you’d like to help Save the Grave, you can make a check payable to:
Monrovia Firefighters’ Association
EIN: 95-2986093
141 E. Lemon Ave.
Monrovia, CA 91016

Monrovia Rocks
Since the pandemic and especially during the Bobcat Fire, Monrovians have found joy and inspiration by putting artistic talents to the brush and painting rocks. These rocks are then placed across town and spread joy and cheer to those participating. Residents are placing many beautiful rocks near Station 101 and we are so grateful…please continue sharing your joy and cheer with us! We hope to see some in the parks and in the parkways as well as near various public buildings. We love the painted rocks and welcome them in the City!

Placement of the rocks is based on common sense and we hope everyone can follow some general guidelines to ensure we are being safe and not creating a barrier for public access. Here are some suggestions:

• Place rocks in landscaped area off the grass so the lawn can be mowed.
• Place rocks in the parkway along the sidewalk, outside of the public walkway.
• If there is not a parkway, place the rock on the far edge of the sidewalk, leaving plenty of room for ADA accessibility (3 feet).
• Painted Rocks are temporary installations, they should not be adhered to the sidewalk or other hard surfaces using any sort of glue or epoxy.

Also, many of our neighboring communities have been affected by wildfires or the COVID-19. And if you see a firefighter, police officer, or City staff member around town, simply saying thanks and expressing your support for their efforts would be greatly appreciated!

This press release was produced by the City of Monrovia. The views expressed are the author's own.