Multiple Road Closure Notice For Firefighter Smith Memorial Procession

Here's an important notice from the City of Woodburn: The memorial service for Firefighter Austin Smith is at 1 p.m. Saturday, February 12 at the St. Paul Rodeo grounds, 4174 Malo Ave NE, St Paul.

The service is open to the public, but please note that this will be a full firefighter honor memorial service with a large presence of first responders (and their vehicles) expected to attend.

A large procession of firefighter units will start in Woodburn, with staging taking place on Stacy Allison Way, just north of Walmart at 6 a.m., then traveling along the following route at approximately 10:30 a.m.

The route will begin at Stacey Allison Way and then proceed to Hooper Street to Evergreen Street to Oxford Street to Harvard Drive to Ben Brown Lane to Kirksey Street to Parr Road to Butteville Road, and then, will exit Woodburn and continue to St. Paul.

In order to accommodate a staging area large enough to handle the number of vehicles expected, the Woodburn Police Department will block access to the staging area at about 6 a.m. and will restrict access to roads along the route at about 10:30 a.m., and remove all restrictions at about noon.

Prior to all the vehicles arriving, residents may be able to enter and exit their neighborhood, but once the vehicles begin the route, there will be limited-to-no access to the roadways. In the event of an emergency, please call 911 and first responders will be able to assist you if needed. The Woodburn Police Department is asking people to plan ahead in order to prepare for the traffic congestion.