'Serious business'
Rain-soaked residents evacuate as storms bear down on burn areas
By André Coleman , Jake Armstrong 01/21/2010
Four months after the devastating Station Fire forced evacuations in across the foothills, the first in a series of storms expected to drop up to 20 inches on the burn area rolled into Southern California, bringing to homes below scorched hillsides the threat of mudslides.
Residents in these communities were trying to avoid more disaster Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, throwing down sandbags and installing concrete barriers to divert water and mud flows. Thunderstorms were expected to drop approximately 1 inch every hour Tuesday, with wind gusts topping 35 mph. Two additional storms were expected to hit the area later this week.
January historically brings about 5 inches or rain to the area. But recent fluctuations in the jet stream, the high-velocity wind current that runs through the Northern Hemisphere, are sending powerful storms south from the Gulf of Alaska, according to Bill Patzert, a climatologist at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The storms will drop three times more rain than average and mud and debris flows will add further complications, he said.
“It’s going to be a wild ride here this week,” Patzert said. “It’s not record-breaking, but for the people in the foothills, it’s backbreaking.”
Los Angeles County Fire Department Public Information Officer Mark Savage said firefighters are closely monitoring the situation. “With the amount of rain expected, this is certainly serious business,” Savage said. “This is a significant event and there is a danger out there for sure.”
The Station Fire in September charred more than 160,000 acres, leaving no vegetation to stop mud from being swept down hillsides by torrential rains. The strongest of the three storms forecast to pound the region through the week was expected to hit on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
On Monday afternoon, mud flows forced authorities to call for the evacuation of 106 homes in the Paradise Valley area of La Cañada Flintridge. An evacuation center was set up in the south gym of La Cañada High School. According to Inspector Matt Levesque of the LA County Fire Department, all of the catch basins designed to keep mud and debris from sliding downhill were full.
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I think Mr Levesque ought to have a look at the debris basin at Loma Alta.. Not full, working perfectly. Thank you L.A. County Dept. of Public Works..