Day: March 19, 2024

By Larry Judkins

Glenn County Observer

“Have you gotten any calls about a fire near Lely Park?” an Orland police officer asked a Glenn County Sheriff’s dispatcher at roughly 11:20 a.m. on Tuesday, March 19.

“There’s a large column of smoke rising in the area,” the officer added.

Just seconds later, Glenn County communications called out the Orland Fire Department for a structure fire at the Paigewood Apartments, which very close to Lely Park and is on the east side of Orland, south of Highway 32 (East Walker Street).

Soon, calls for mutual aid were made to several fire departments, including Artois, Willows, Capay, Hamilton City, and Corning.

Orland police officers and Glenn County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene to assist with evacuating residents from their apartments and to help with crowd and traffic control.

Some dogs were also evacuated by an animal control officer. Fortunately, a later report on the police scanner indicated that most of these were reunited with their owners.

An ambulance was on-scene if needed, and one or two PG&E vehicles were seen in the area.

Firefighters were gradually released from the scene throughout the afternoon, with the final Orland volunteers leaving at about 4:30 p.m.

Thanks were extended to all the agencies that responded to this incident.

Damage to at least two of the buildings was extensive, and, reportedly, eight families were displaced. No one was injured, however.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.