Heavy rains in Southern California forced residents to evacuate their homes
Southern California: Due to excessive rains, residents in Southern California have been forced to leave their houses. California’s National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists have already issued warnings about the storm’s potential effects, especially for Southern California, where recent wildfire burn scars are at high danger of debris flows due to the heavy rain.
Meteorologists at the NWS office for the Bay Area have identified rain, wind, and floods as the main dangers impacting Central California, where impacts are also anticipated.
California is engulfed by a strong storm driven by an air river, prompting flood warnings and evacuation orders in many counties. The Los Angeles basin and other coastal and valley portions of Southern California may get up to 3 inches of rain, while mountainous areas could receive up to 6 inches, according to the NWS. According to the NWS, Thursday into the evening is expected to be the day with the most rainfall.
Due to “the risk of debris flows and flash flooding in and around the recent burn areas,” the NWS has also issued a flood watch for Thursday around the sites of past fires.
Until 2 p.m. Friday, evacuation alerts are in place across Los Angeles County in Palisades, Mandeville Canyon, Sunset, Eaton, and Hurst burn scar regions owing to the high danger of a potentially fatal debris flow caused by the heavy rain. Erik Scott, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), said on social media that a member of the department suffered minor injuries Thursday when his car was washed into the ocean by a massive debris flow in Malibu. According to Scott, the member was taken to a hospital as a precaution after escaping.
Due to the possibility of debris flows close to the Airport Fire burn scar, Orange County authorities have mandated evacuations for Trabuco, Bell, and Hot Springs Canyons. Meanwhile, Long and Modjeska Canyons are still under evacuation alerts.
Residents in the vicinity of the Mountain Fire burn region in Ventura County are under evacuation alerts from the Sheriff’s Emergency Services department, which are in force until 8 a.m. on Friday. Authorities issued a warning about “a remote possibility” of peak rainfall rates “near or above .75 inches an hour for some parts of the Mountain Fire Burn Area, including South Mountain.”
In the neighborhood of Highland, next to the Line Fire burn scar, San Bernardino County has also issued evacuation advisories. On Thursday, these were raised to mandatory evacuation orders.
Through Thursday night, the NWS has issued a flash flood watch for a large portion of Ventura and Los Angeles counties, especially in burn scar regions where heavy rains may cause flows of mud and debris. But flood warnings are not limited to these regions; they span a large portion of the state as heavy rains endanger cities and roadways with flash floods. Numerous rock and mudslides were reported by law authorities on Thursday in the Santa Cruz Mountains and Malibu.
From Sonoma in Northern California to San Diego at the southern border, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services has deployed resources across 14 counties in anticipation of the storm. Although the Bay Area and other parts of Northern California are also seeing heavy rains, authorities do not anticipate as many problems as in the south.
In order to protect storm drains and filter debris, preparations in Los Angeles County include sandbag placement in fire zones, concrete barrier installation, and debris basin cleaning. Helicopters, deputies, and search and rescue teams are ready to go if necessary.
“It looks like we’re going to be seeing the highest amount of rain that we’ve had in a single storm so far this season,” Lisa Phillips, a Weather Service meteorologist, told The New York Times.
“The LAPD has knocked on your door and left a door hanger if you live in a residence where you need to evacuate,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Therefore, people have been notified whether they must go.
“Storms can bring sudden and severe conditions that make staying at home extremely risky,” said Robert Luna, the sheriff for Los Angeles County. Don’t risk it.”
The storm is predicted to finish on Friday, although weather warnings remain in effect until then. It is predicted to be dry and warmer during the weekend.
