Follow-Up: San Clemente City Manager Proclaims Local Emergency Over Norte Fire; Order Expires October 24 Unless Council Ratifies

The City of San Clemente posted a "Norte Fire & Evacuation Information" page on its official website on October 16, and City Manager Andy Hall, acting as the city's Director of Emergency Services, signed a proclamation of local emergency on October 17, declaring that a local emergency exists throughout the city in response to the Norte Fire, which began on October 16. The proclamation was issued under California Government Code section 8630 and Chapter 8.12 of the San Clemente Municipal Code, on the ground that the City Council was not in session and could not immediately be called into session.

The proclamation states that the fast-spreading fire began on October 16 near Portico del Norte and Eminencia del Norte and poses an immediate threat to the Southwest Orange County region and to San Clemente, specifically including evacuation zones SCL12 and SCL13, and that the fire, dangerous winds, smoke and evacuation orders have threatened and continue to threaten property damage, the dislocation of businesses and residents, and extreme safety risks to persons and property. The proclamation issues ten emergency orders, covering evacuation measures coordinated with the Orange County Sheriff's Department and the Orange County Fire Authority, temporary closures of streets, parks and other public areas, a ban on entering closed areas, emergency traffic and parking restrictions, evacuation assistance and shelter coordination, and emergency resources, procurement and mutual aid.

Under the proclamation, the local emergency expires on October 24, 2026, unless it is ratified and extended by the City Council. In an update timestamped 6:00 p.m. on October 17, the city's information page said all evacuation orders associated with the Norte Fire had been lifted; the page also links to the Orange County Sheriff's evacuation-zone information, lists a fire hotline at 714-628-7085, and points residents to register with AlertOC, the County of Orange alert system. An overnight shelter run by the American Red Cross in partnership with the cities of San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano was set up at the Boys & Girls Club, 1 Via Positiva, in San Juan Capistrano.

GSM has been following this fire in a series of reports, including its containment, the lifting of evacuation orders and the federal firefighting assistance; this report is a follow-up covering the city's emergency proclamation. (Source: City of San Clemente official announcement)

Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：San Clemente历史市政厅（Historic City Hall）资料图。照片：Billy Hathorn／Wikimedia Commons（CC BY-SA 3.0）。Photo: San Clemente's Historic City Hall (file photo). Photo: Billy Hathorn / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

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