With many communities still burning from the Los Angeles wildfires — and new fires still emerging — the rain forecast for the weekend seems like a welcome relief. But the way the rain falls can make the difference between a respite or a repeat of the disaster.
The National Weather Service said there is a high chance of widespread rain in Los Angeles County this weekend (25th and 26th)—with light intensities spread out over many hours.
There is no major flooding risk, other than a 5% to 10% chance of significant debris and fire hazards for Los Angeles and Ventura County, according to the weather service. Isolated heavy rain measuring up to 12.7 millimeters per hour is also expected.
Meanwhile, Santa Ana winds are expected to last until at least Friday morning, with the weather service extending its red flag fire warning until 10 a.m. local time in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
The soil in Los Angeles hasn’t seen a drop all month, so the moderate amount of rain in the forecast will be welcome if it comes at a pace that can be absorbed by the fire-scarred soil.
A slow, steady flow would be a relief for everyone. But rain that comes in brief bursts can create flash floods that would loosen soil and debris on charred hillsides, causing them to tumble toward decimated neighborhoods.
“It behaves more like cement; the soil cannot accept the water, so everything goes to the drain immediately”, said Ariel Cohen, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles.
“This can result in rapid flows of mud, rock and fire debris that clump together and spread quickly downslope,” Cohen added. “It has the potential to be harmful in doing so, bringing down other structures and can certainly be a threat to life and property.”
Authorities say they are prepared this time
State and local officials — stung by criticism that they didn’t do enough to prevent the devastation caused by the wildfire — say they are ready for the complications the rain could bring.
“These communities have already suffered unimaginable losses — we are taking action against further damage,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in a statement on Tuesday (21).
Not only can landslides cause more damage and complicate cleanup, they can also spread soil full of toxic chemicals that cleanup crews were already working to contain.
Karen issued an emergency executive order designed to prevent polluted water and sludge from entering the city’s storm drains, including speeding up debris cleanup and installing concrete barriers in the burn zone.
More than 250,000 sandbags are positioned in flood-prone areas, and pits called “debris dams” have been dug into hillsides to capture branches and sediment that wash off the mountain during rains, the California Department of Water Resources said.
In a video message Thursday, Los Angeles County Fire Department Deputy Chief David Richardson advised those in areas at risk of being hit by landslides to “obtain sandbags in advance.” ” and know how to turn off all utilities at home in case of an emergency.
Sandbags are available at all fire stations, Richardson said.
“Stay away from areas susceptible to flooding. Do not attempt to enter running water. Do not try to rescue someone who is being washed away. Instead, call 911,” he added.
There’s no doubt that Los Angeles needs rain. Even without the wildfires, the county is now in extreme drought for the first time in four years. “The poor start to the water year continues across much of southern California, southern Nevada and Utah, and Arizona and New Mexico,” the US Drought Monitor said.
While the size of the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires hasn’t increased in more than a week, the Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake in far northern Los Angeles County burned more than 15 square miles in one day.
Meanwhile, two new fires were reported Thursday afternoon in San Diego County –– the Gilman and Border 2 fires –– the latter of which is spreading through the Otay Mountain Wilderness, near the U.S. border. and Mexico, at a “moderate rate,” according to Cal Fire.
The Border 2 fire doubled in area on Thursday night (23) –– spreading from 1.2km² to 2.4km² in about an hour.
There are currently no threats to civilians, although Cal Fire has declared the fire a threat to critical communications infrastructure.
The rain forecast comes at the end of another red flag warning period that saw almost 100,000 power customers have their electricity turned off as a precaution on Thursday (23).
Trump threatened to suspend aid and plans visit to California
President Donald Trump is expected to travel to California on Friday and also pay a visit to western North Carolina, where there is widespread damage from Hurricane Helene.
Trump has threatened to suspend aid to California, saying state officials need to change the way they manage water.
On Wednesday (22), the president told Fox News: “I don’t think we should give California anything until they let the water run out.”
Speaking to NewsNation, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said imposing conditions on aid to a state suffering from a natural disaster is a “huge mistake.”
“The president ran for president to be the president of the United States of America, not just the Republican states of America. It doesn’t matter what party preference the state has,” he said, adding that he hopes Trump reconsiders helping California after seeing the devastation of the wildfires firsthand.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said after a press conference Thursday, during which he signed a pair of bills allocating $2.5 billion toward state recovery: “I look forward to being there at the clue to thank the president, welcome him and we are making sure that all the resources he needs for a successful meeting are provided to him. There is no limit to the resources we will provide for this meeting.”
Newsom told reporters that he has not received any communication from the White House about Trump’s visit, but that he is “happy” that the president accepted the governor’s invitation.
Many have memories of past landslides
Forecasters are not anticipating the level of rain that has triggered some of the region’s most destructive mudflows in the recent past.
The Santa Barbara County community of Montecito was virtually destroyed by a powerful winter storm immediately following the Thomas Fire — at the time, the largest fire in the state’s history. Twenty-three people died.
Even without the devastation caused by wildfires, Southern California’s unique geography leaves some areas in constant danger of land instability.
The coastal city of Rancho Palos Verdes experienced the sudden movement of a decades-old complex of slow-moving landslides last fall, twisting roads and putting multimillion-dollar homes on the brink of destruction.
The city has invested millions of dollars in “drainage wells,” sucking more than 112 million gallons of destabilizing water from the ground in a desperate effort to shore up neighborhoods.
A preview of the worst-case scenario for the rains to come could be seen in the Palisades two weeks ago, when an ocean-view home that survived the fire was literally split in half by a landslide, apparently triggered by the runoff of water used to fight the fire.
“There are mud and debris flow hazards that exist even when it’s not raining,” Los Angeles County Public Works Director Mark Pestrella said last week.
This content was originally published in Rain could cause landslides amid fire in California on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
