BREA – The main building of Fanning Elementary School, which suffered “significant” damage during Friday night’s magnitude-5.1 earthquake, remained closed today and likely will stay that way for more than a week so the district can complete repairs on the campus.
Officials had originally planned to have the bulk of the campus at 650 N. Apricot Ave. reopened today. Instead, crews erected fencing around the school’s main building Monday as the extent of the damage became more clear, and fallen ceiling tiles raised concerns about asbestos.
According to the school’s website, stand-alone rooms at the campus will be reopened today, but the main building “will be closed to all students and staff for the remainder of this week and potentially longer.”
Some first-grade classes will be held in portable rooms and other classes will be shifted to different locations, principal Susan Metcalf wrote on the school’s website. Classes for second- through sixth-graders will be moved to Laurel Elementary School for the rest of the week, according to Metcalf.
“Teachers are working to adapt lesson plans and instructional activities while we are displaced,” Metcalf wrote. “As we have no access to our main building, it would be particularly helpful if students could come to school … with extra supplies, such as sharpened pencils, glue sticks, scissors, colored pencils, crayons, silent reading books, tissues, etc.”
Carbon Canyon Road near Olinda Village in Brea remained blocked as geologists continued to inspect the hillside for possible rockslide danger. Only residents with ID were being allowed into the area. Brea officials said the road was scheduled to reopen at 4 a.m. today.
Caltrans plans to close Carbon Canyon again from 9 p.m. Friday through 4 a.m. Monday to shore up the hillside and make road repairs, according to Brea spokeswoman Cindie Ryan. The plans depends on the weather, since rain is in the forecast this week, Ryan said.
Brea City Hall was closed Monday morning for clean-up work but reopened early in the afternoon.
“Since Friday night crews have been in here working on a water main break, picking up ceiling tiles, nothing really serious,” Ryan said.
About six to eight residents worried about structural damage to their homes have asked for help, so city inspectors were sent to check the structures, Ryan said.
La Habra sustained mostly water line ruptures and some broken windows, according to Rob Ferrier, an assistant to the city manager.
None of the city’s buildings suffered an structural damage. The worst damage Friday night at City Hall was fallen ceiling tiles and loose light fixtures, Ferrier said.
“I was in the building Saturday morning and the ceiling tiles and lights were replaced by then,” he said.
A couple water mains broke in the city and residents in “roughly 30” homes reported chimney damage, Ferrier said.
The Red Cross opened a shelter Friday night, when about 40 residents sought safe haven mostly, out of anxiety rather than damage to their homes, Ferrier said. By Saturday the shelter was closed.
Ferrier said he noticed a handful of broken windows at businesses around town, but the merchants were open.
“All in all it was an earthquake big enough to get your attention, but not big enough to do significant damage,” he said.
In Fullerton, all of the city’s ruptured water pipes have been repaired.
“City staff worked around the clock to minimize loss of water and power,” said Fullerton Mayor Doug Chaffee. “In spite of the earthquake and aftershocks, I’m proud to announce that everyone in the city of Fullerton has water and electricity in their homes and businesses.”
Small aftershocks continued giving the La Habra area minor shakes Monday. According to Lucy Jones of the USGS, there were more than 60 aftershocks from the La Habra quake over the weekend.
Fullerton officials reported that 83 people had been displaced by Friday’s quake, with 30 properties red-tagged as uninhabitable, but by Monday most residents had returned home, according to City Manager Joe Felz. Just two homes remained red-tagged, according to city spokesman Chi-Chung Keung.
The earthquake, which occurred at 9:09 p.m. Friday, was preceded by a magnitude-3.6 quake in the area at 8:03 p.m., according to the USGS. The large temblor was felt from the Mexico border to the Central Valley in at least seven Southern California counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Ventura and Kern.
