Rain in Southern California creates mudflows but helps firefighters

LOS ANGELES (AP) — More rainfall fell Monday connected parts of Southern California aft causing mudflows implicit the weekend, helping firefighters but boosting the hazard of toxic ash runoff successful areas scorched by Los Angeles-area wildfires.

Flood watches were successful effect for pain areas from caller fires that broke retired astir the Pacific Palisades vicinity successful Los Angeles, Altadena and Castaic Lake, said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service successful Oxnard.

“All these caller burns are precise susceptible to accelerated runoff,” Sirard said, informing of adjacent tiny amounts of rainfall successful a fewer minutes’ time. “What that means is we person a reasonably precocious information of mud and debris flows erstwhile we get supra those thresholds.”

A hoops is stuck successful the nett extracurricular of a residence destroyed by the Palisades Fire successful the Pacific Palisades vicinity of Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A information of the Pacific Coast Highway successful Los Angeles County was closed arsenic of Sunday day owed to mudflows successful Topanga Canyon, the California Department of Transportation said. Snow fell successful the mountains.

One payment that could travel from the rain: It whitethorn assistance firefighters who are reining successful aggregate wildfires aft weeks of windy and adust weather.

Los Angeles County crews spent overmuch of past week removing vegetation, shoring up slopes and reinforcing roads successful devastated areas of the Palisades and Eaton fires, which reduced full neighborhoods to rubble and ash aft breaking retired during almighty winds connected Jan. 7.

The Palisades Fire, the largest of the blazes that destroyed thousands of homes and killed astatine slightest 11 people, reached 90% containment Sunday. The Eaton Fire, which broke retired adjacent Altadena and has killed astatine slightest 16 people, was 98% contained.

The Hughes Fire, which ignited past week northbound of Los Angeles and caused evacuation orders oregon warnings for much than 50,000 people, was 95% contained arsenic of Sunday evening.

In San Diego County, firefighters made advancement to incorporate the smaller Border 2 Fire arsenic it burned done a distant country of the Otay Mountain Wilderness adjacent the U.S.-Mexico border.

Most of the portion was forecast to get astir an inch of precipitation implicit respective days, but the upwind work warned of a hazard of localized cloudbursts causing mud and debris to travel down hills.

“So the occupation would beryllium if 1 of those showers happens to parkland itself implicit a pain area,” upwind work meteorologist Carol Smith said connected societal media. “That could beryllium capable to make debris flows.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an enforcement bid past week to expedite cleanup efforts and mitigate the biology impacts of fire-related pollutants. LA County supervisors besides approved an exigency question to instal flood-control infrastructure and expedite and region sediment successful fire-impacted areas.

Fire crews filled sandbags for communities, portion region workers installed barriers and cleared drainage pipes and basins.

Officials cautioned that ash successful caller pain zones was a toxic mix of incinerated cars, electronics, batteries, gathering materials, paints, furnishings and different household items. It contains pesticides, asbestos, plastics and lead. Residents were urged to deterioration protective cogwheel portion cleaning up.

Concerns astir post-fire debris flows person been particularly precocious since 2018, erstwhile the municipality of Montecito, up the seashore from Los Angeles, was ravaged by mudslides aft a downpour deed upland slopes burned bare by a immense blaze. Hundreds of homes were damaged and 23 radical died.

The rainfall snapped a near-record streak of adust upwind for Southern California. Most of Southern California is presently successful “extreme drought” oregon “severe drought,” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.