From Flames to Floods: LA Faces Mudslide Threat as Rains Follow Wildfires
Clean-up crews rush to protect burn areas as storms bring risk of debris flows, forcing road and school closures
As Los Angeles closes in on containing nearly 100 percent of the wildfires that have engulfed the city for weeks, a new threat looms with heavy rains sweeping in and causing mudslides.
After the first significant rainstorm in eight months swept across the area on Sunday, areas affected most by the fires are now faced with the threat of rock and mudslides, already forcing the closure of some roadways and triggering the closure of schools at Malibu. Flood watches are also in effect at Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
“All these fresh burns are very susceptible to rapid runoff,” a National Weather Service meteorologist, Joe Sirard, told the Associated Press. “What that means is we have a fairly high danger of mud and debris flows once we get above those thresholds.”
The region is forecasted to receive more rain over the next several days, with Weather Service officials warning of an increased risk of localized storm clouds.
“So the problem would be if one of those showers happens to park itself over a burn area,” weather service meteorologist Carol Smith said on social media. “That could be enough to create debris flows.”
Up to one inch of rain has fallen across the region since Saturday, and thunderstorms are expected to sweep through the area on Monday. A flood watch is set to continue until this afternoon, according to Los Angeles Times, which also reports that forecasters have predicted a 20 percent chance of “significant flash flooding” and debris flows.
Post-fire mudslides have bedeviled the Los Angeles area for many years. In 2018, the town of Montecito saw hundreds of homes damaged and 23 people dead after a deluge of rain fell upon mountain slopes nearby that had been burned bare by a large fire.
The Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, has fast-tracked cleanup efforts after issuing an executive order to expedite cleanup efforts in burn areas by removing vegetation, shoring up hillsides, and reinforcing roadways.
“This is to prevent additional damage to areas already ravaged by fire and also to protect our watershed, beaches, and ocean from toxic runoff,” she said during a recent news conference.
