After Fires, Calif. Rain Mudslide Threat
Pastor Dale Morgan
After Fires, Calif. Rain Mudslide Threat*
By GILLIAN FLACCUS,
Associated Press Writer
SANTA ANA, Calif. - Southern California's weather turned from
dangerously dry to extremely wet Friday as a storms brought the threat
of mudslides and flash floods in areas burned by recent wildfires and
prompted evacuation orders.
Residents were ordered to leave 200 homes in Orange County's Modjeska
and Williams canyons, while voluntary evacuations were urged in a third
canyon and firefighters were keeping an eye on a fourth, county
Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion said.
The National Weather Service said that some flash flooding and debris
flows were reported in the Modjeska Canyon area at midafternoon.
Sheriff's deputies went door-to-door to alert residents to the risk and
an emergency shelter was set up at an area high school.
Flash flood warnings and watches were issued throughout Southern
California, where wildfires have stripped vegetation from thousands of
acres of land, leaving it susceptible to excessive runoff and erosion.
In north-central San Diego County, more than 2 inches of rain fell in
the vicinity of vast areas burned by the wildfires of late October, the
weather service said.
Firefighters and residents also kept an eye on Malibu, where the most
recent blaze fanned by powerful, dry Santa Ana winds scorched 4,900
acres on slopes and in canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains.
The rain was expected to clear out overnight.
Downtown Los Angeles had a half-inch of rain by evening _ not much by
normal standards but relatively significant the course of the West's
long dry spell. Just 3.21 inches were recorded there in the rain-year
that ended June 30. Average annual rainfall is 15.14 inches
The rain also turned commuting into a mess, with numerous traffic
accidents on rainy roads.
A tractor-trailer rig lost control before dawn on rain-slicked
Interstate 5 in Orange County and all lanes were blocked for hours as
firefighters worked to rescue the driver of a pickup truck that became
wedged under the trailer. Traffic backed up for miles on the major route.
(This version Concepcion's title and the spelling of Concepcion's given
name.)