BREAKING NEWS: City To Initiate Mandatory Evacs at 10 p.m.

Authorities made it clear at the afternoon press conference Thursday: the approaching storm will be strong, it will be windy and it will be wet.

In response to the potential impact, Glendora will raise the Colby Fire alert level to red at 10 p.m. tonight for the roughly 800 homes north of Sierra Madre Avenue. Once residents leave the area after 10 p.m., they will not be allowed back in, said Glendora City Manager Chris Jeffers.

Intense rainfall is expected to hit the area around 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. High winds are expected to accompany the rain, up to 50 to 60 miles per hour.

“It’s going to add another dimension for us to prepare for, possible trees coming down and getting entangled with electrical wires,” Jeffers said.

Glendora Police Chief Tim Staab said that no one will be forced from their homes under the mandatory evacuations, but authorities strongly encourage residents to leave at 10 p.m.

Goddard Middle School will be closed tomorrow morning. Private school St. Lucy’s Priory will determine whether classes will remain on schedule by tomorrow morning.

There is no one currently occupying the evacuation center at the Crowther Teen and Family Center.

The city’s Emergency Operations Center will become operational at 6 p.m. tonight
County crews have worked steadily to clear the five debris basins above Glendora, which are roughly 25 percent filled, Jeffers said.

County operations to clear the basins further will cease before the rains arrive, which might happen as soon as 8 p.m. tonight. A light rain is expected to hit the area around that time.

Police officers will be posted at entrances to the Impact Area.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our residents,” Staab said.

Swift water teams with the Los Angeles County Fire Department and crews with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and city crews will be stationed throughout the city.

After 8 a.m. Friday, the National Weather Service expects a break in the weather. Around 12 p.m. a band of moderate rain will descend on Glendora and bring the possibility of hail and thunderstorms, which worries city officials, however, the rains will taper off as night approaches.

There is a 10 to 20 percent chance for light rain on Saturday morning.