In our coverage of the ongoing wildfires in Southern California yesterday, we contacted plenty of companies with consumer electronics operations in the region. One business that is native to Southern California — Ken Crane’s, which operates nine stores in the area — never got back to us on deadline. That gave us some concern.
The good news is that I received a phone message last evening from Steve Caldero, senior VP/COO of the chain, who was just stepping off of a flight to the East Coast saying that the chain’s stores are open for business and that he and his family and its executives are fine.
Pam Crane, executive VP of the chain, emailed with these comments about the situation: “We are definitely open for business … and more importantly want to be able to be open and here to help in anyway we can. What people in the effected areas are going thru is totally devastating.”
She added, “Fortunately, where I live in Palos Verdes, which is a hilly and rural, has not been hit by fire this year, but we have been in the past, so I know exactly what these poor people are going through. It is absolutely terrifying. The smoke is a cloud all over L.A. For people with asthma it must really be awful. I live 40 miles from the nearest fire, and the smoke at my house [Monday] night even with windows and doors closed, you would have thought the fire was at the foot of the hill.”
