We’re excited to invite you to our next ORA General Membership Meeting on Saturday, September 6 at 11:00 AM. This month’s lineup includes several outstanding guest speakers dedicated to our community:
Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez
Councilwoman Rodriguez has been a longtime advocate for our community. In the aftermath of the January fire, she partnered with the Red Cross to provide us with water, masks, and air purifiers. More recently, she led coordinated efforts with the Department of Transportation, Sanitation, Outreach teams, and LAPD to remove motorhomes and encampments along Foothill Blvd., and also championed legislation to strengthen parking enforcement by changing regulations from “No Overnight Parking” to “No Parking.” In addition, her office collaborated with DOT to paint red curb zones near our main entrance.
Kurt Cabrera-Miller
President of the Sylmar Neighborhood Council, Mr. Cabrera-Miller will share updates on local initiatives and community developments. He’ll also be available to answer your questions and hear your feedback.
Sharon Hawkins
President of EPP, Ms. Hawkins will present important home fire safety strategies and review practical tools and resources to help us stay prepared for emergencies.
ORA will initiate conversations with city officials requesting help to improve cellular services for our local community and to coordinate practice simulations (Emergency Action Plans) to prepare residents for emergencies (Examples: Emergency Exit, Traffic Control, Traffic Light Signaling changes, and Practice Simulations). For additional questions you would like to address, email our team at ora.oakridge@gmail.com (Please provide a feasible solution with each of your concerns). The meeting will also be streamed live via Zoom - visit our website (ORAOakridge.com) for more information and how to request access.
Join us for refreshments and the opportunity to support and engage with our local leaders working to make a difference in our community. Stay cool and safe - we’ll see you soon!
July 6th: Free for Oakridge: Tribute to Frank Sinatra at The Museum of SFV
For those interested in attending, please contact: Ora.Oakridge@gmail.com or call Wesley (818) 336-6823. Include your name, email, space number, and the total number attending.
July 6th: 🐍 Snake Safety Tips for Residents
We hope you are enjoying the July 4th holiday weekend. Thank you to those who participated in the community's July 4th Golf Cart Parade, and enjoyed the hot dogs and ice cream refreshments afterwards.
As summer's now officially in full swing, we thought we would share some safety tips regarding rattlesnakes. For additional details for home and pet safety, please refer to our Snake Safety Tip page.
⛑️ If YOU or your PET is Bitten by a Snake (EMERGENCY):
Stay calm and limit movement.
Do NOT apply ice, tourniquets, or attempt to suck out venom.
CLOSEST EMERGENCY HOSPITAL: Olive View-UCLA Medical Center
Two PET HOSPITALS have Anti-Venom treatments:
VCA Chatoak Animal Hosp at 17659 Chatsworth St, GH 818-363-7444
- $65 - Preventive Anti-Venom shot (Helps)
- Anti-Venom treatment cost: $1,500-$2,500
- 16915 San Fernando Mission Blvd GH 818-363-8143
- (Does Not provide Preventive Anti-Venom shots)
- Anti-Venom treatment cost: $4,000
🐍 For Snake Removal (Non-Emergency):
- Contact LA Animal Services or a licensed wildlife control provider.
Stay safe!
PAST EVENTS:
JUNE 7 - GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING - Where ALL RESIDENTS were welcome to attend
THANK YOU to all who attended the ORA General Membership Meeting on June 7th. We were pleased to welcome several guests who shared valuable updates:
LAFD Station 91: Captain Madison Viray and Crew:
• Expressed heartfelt thanks for all the community donations over recent months. The RecClub, led by Ron and Paul, announced a $600 donation to Station 91 from the Quilt Raffle proceeds, and William Castillo also recognized additional individual contributions from residents.
Senator Caroline Menjivar:
• Discussed a range of legislative matters, including 21 bills she has introduced this session. She also addressed specific initiatives and bills that community members inquired about.
• The Senator is collaborating with Councilmember Monica Rodriguez to secure funding for an additional fire station in our district.
• The senator looks forward to attending our July 4th parade.
LAFD: Assistant Chief William Peralta and LAFD Battalion 12, "C" Platoon Chief: Jason Getchius:
• Spoke on behalf of Battalion 12, which covers 106 square miles—making it the largest single battalion in the city. Regarding Hurst Fire: The fire initiated near the SCE Transmission Tower 6. SCE has acknowledged that their equipment likely caused the fire and is cooperating fully with the ongoing investigation.
• For evacuation notices, they highly recommend using mobile apps that notify fire outbreaks, such as Watch Duty and Pulsepoint, and genasys Protect (Zone#: LFD-0001-A, as Sylmar was the first zone designated!).
• During evacuations, the LAFD is always in touch with LAPD to get folks on the freeway and away from the fires as quickly as possible.
LAPD: SLO Joseph Carter:
• Officer Carter reported progress on clearing encampments along Foothill Blvd. In collaboration with DOT, Sanitation, and Outreach—coordinated through Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez’s office—ten motorhomes and trailers were impounded. Councilwoman Rodriguez encouraged legislation to change the enforcement from “No Overnight Parking” to strictly “No Parking”.
May 10 - LAFD FIRE SERVICE DAY
Had a local FIRE STATION 91 day of fun activities:
* Station Tours and T-Shirt Sales
* LAFD Cadet Post Booth
* Auto Extrication Demo
* and More!
MAY 10 10AM - 4PM
14430 Polk Street
We were excited to invite you to a special virtual webinar with Korinna Domingo, Director of the Cougar Conservancy, on Saturday, May 3rd, from 11:00 AM to Noon. Many of you joined us in person in the small conference room or tuned in live via Zoom.
Those who have signed up for access to our members-only website can find details there. For those others interested in joining via Zoom - please email us and we will provide details to join the meeting.
Also, thank you for your questions in advance and emailing them to ora.oakridge@gmail.com.
LA City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez thanks you for attending the presentation on the preliminary design of the new Sylmar Senior Center on Thursday, May 1, from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM at the Sylmar Recreation Center.
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Looking ahead, our next ORA General Membership Meeting will take place on Saturday, June 7, 2025, at 11:00 AM. Guest speakers will be announced soon and we will also provide updates on questions raised from our last meeting—so stay tuned!
You may have noticed the freshly painted red curbs marking the no-parking zone near the main entrance. This change came directly from your feedback at the last Membership Meeting, thanks to collaboration between Jose Hernandez (Field Representative for Monica Rodriguez) and the Department of Transportation. It’s a great example of how our collective voice leads to positive changes. We’ll discuss more exciting updates at the next meeting.
3/06/2025
MARCH 6: We had one of our largest turnouts at the March 1st ORA Membership Meeting! A heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended, especially those who asked insightful questions.
For those who did not attend, we were welcomed with guest speakers Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez, Fire Captain Michael Gross of Station 91, Fire Battalion Chief Jason Getchius for LAFD District 12, Field Representative Jose Hernandez who attended on behalf of Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, and Senior Lead Police Officer Joseph Carter. Several firefighters from Station 91 were in attendance as well. The feedback from all the speakers was incredibly positive, and all wished to return in the near future to address some of the concerns that were addressed.
Key topics discussed:
Brush control legislation – A project is in progress to enhance fire safety.
New fire station for Sylmar – Land has been acquired on Foothill Blvd, with construction planned by 2030.
Senior center development at Sylmar Park– A new facility is expected by 2029.
Foothill Blvd. RV’s – Legislative motions are in the works to streamline jurisdictional challenges and expedite solutions for encampments along Foothill Blvd.
Emergency evacuation concerns – Efforts are being made to improve congestion at the community exit during evacuations and increase police patrols at the entrance.
2/23/2025
After the meeting, ORA volunteers distributed free air purifiers behind the Clubhouse—one per household, available on a first-come, first-served basis. A special thanks to Monica Rodriguez and the Red Cross for generously providing the purifiers to the community. Any residents that did not get one can still get one by contacting her Sylmar Office at: 14117 Hubbard Street #D1, Sylmar, CA 91342 • Tel: 818.756.8409.