Page 7 - Mid Valley Times 9-10-20 E-edition

Thursday, September 10, 2020
Busy holiday weekend at Reedley Beach
The View From Here
I remem- bered to set my alarm the night be- fore.
It was
ready to
wake me up
at 3:15 am.
The last time
I’d woken up
so early was, well during the last wildfire I covered. That was back in 2015, the Cuesta Grade fire near Santa Margarita. We were scheduled to talk to fire of- ficials for the morning show and had to be at the location by 5 a.m.
Five years later, a differ- ent job, a different fire, but the same routine. I was to tag along with the Reedley Police Department as they handed out evacuation or- ders to residents in the Au- berry area.
I met with Sgt. Jesus Ri- vera, Ofc. Kalee Olivas and Ofc. Eddie Luna. We arrived at the Command Post a little after 6 a.m. “Let’s get ready for briefing,” someone yelled. I prepared myself for the meeting but was abruptly told that no media was allowed in the briefing. “Aw come on,” I thought to myself.
As I frustratingly wait- ed outside for the meet- ing to end, Sgt. Rivera told me they’d received their assignments. Reedley Po- lice, along with a couple of Fresno County Sheriff’s Of- fice deputies were to notify residents near the fire of the immediate evacuation.
They’d post color coded advisements to let other personnel know if someone was still inside the home re- fusing to leave, or if they’d already vacated their prop- erty.
The color code was as follows, a blue notice meant someone in the home needed medical assistance evacuat- ing their home. A pink ad- visement meant they were in the process of leaving. A yellow advisement meant the residents had evacuated and the home was empty. A red advisement meant a re- fusal to leave. When a resi- dent refused to leave, police were then required to take a photo of the person holding up their drivers license or identification card.
One of the first areas we went to was along Auberry Road near the Jose Basin. The assignment, we were to advise all people on the left side of the road of the evacuation orders.
I wasn’t too concerned at first. The area was smoky, but from our understanding the fire was still two hours away.
We then took Auberry Road to Meadow Lane and proceeded to Corlew Lane.
SEE COLUMN on page A8
because the water was no lon- ger ice cold or moving fast.
“So we decided to come cool off for a bit, the water is not that deep, I’m just making sure the kids don’t go out too far.”
Espino said they’d tried to spend the day at a local flea market, but that was also not enjoyable due to the excessive heat warning.
“It was just too hot there,” Espino said. “Our son is autis- tic and he wanted to be near the water, so this was perfect for him, so living in Reedley, the closest area for us is Reed- ley Beach.”
“We got him [Espino's son] out here, the water is not cold, its perfect, and a good way to spend the day,”
Heat advisories were in effect throughout the holiday weekend as temperatures were expected to reach 109 degrees.
“When we drove in the guy at the gate told us there would only be two more cars allowed into the gate then the lot would be full,” said Sanchez.
The ladies said they were happy to be out for a bit hav- ing their kids enjoying the day.
Juanita Adame
Photos by Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
Crowds gathered at Reedley Beach during Labor Day weekend. Temperatures were well above 100 degrees and a heat advisory was in effect for the area throughout the holiday.
A sign posted at the entrance to Reedley Beach advised visitors that the lot was full for vehicle parking.
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
After a couple of failed at- tempts at finding something fun for their children to do during the Labor Day week- end, Dinuba resident Karina Sanchez and Reedley resident Joanna Espino decided that Reedley Beach would be their
best option.
“With everything going
on around us, it’s been really hard,” said Sanchez. “It’s been so hot today, we had been at the Plaza Park in Visalia and all the equipment on the play- ground was so hot for the kids.”
Sanchez said the beach would be the perfect option
Dinuba High alumni crew assists with Creek Fire
Contributed
A group of former fire students from the cities' of Reedley, Selma, and Dinu- ba are putting their newly learned skills to the test as they assist on the Creek Fire incident.
The group is joining more than one thousand other personnel on the mas- sive fire that, as of Sept. 8 had burned nearly 140,000 acres and remained at 0 percent containment.
The Creek Fire is burn- ing in Fresno County and Madera County.
Contributed
Former fire students posed for a photo during the Creek Fire. The group, along with multiple other fire and law enforcement agencies has been assisting with the fire that started sometime in the evening of Sept. 4
Students enjoy day of planting at St. Anthony's in Reedley
Photo of the week
Photo Contributed
Makenna Gobby smiled as she posed for a photo during a blessing and ground breaking ceremony at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School in Reedley.
Contributed
A photo of a baby bass caught and then released back into the Kings River at Reedley Beach was sent in by Marcos Salinas. Have a photo you'd like featured? Email juanita@midvalleypublishing. com.