More On Mudslides...

More on the mudslide threat...

Hillside Residents Fear Threat Of More Mudslides

On Thursday, the west San Fernando Valley got a light touch of rain. Of course the rain amounts would vary depending on where you were in the valley, but my unofficial estimate would have put the rain at .03 of an inch.

But...a storm cell formed over the burn area and “...caused a third of an inch to fall in a 20-minute span...” according to the article. Six homes were damaged.

Still, I'm reassured by this article. It appears that Los Angeles is taking the mudslide threat seriously. Chances are, however, that homes will be lost and damaged in the upcoming months. But there's only so much Los Angeles can do – think of it as trying to prevent an earthquake. We cannot prevent a natural disaster but we can do what we can to minimize the loss.

Here's a key sentence from the article: “In the next two weeks, crews also will clean out the Mullally Debris Basin, which can hold 9400 cubic yards of material but was filled within roughly 30 minutes Thursday night.”

What happens if this area is hit by several storm cells? What happens if Los Angeles is hit by back to back to back storms? As stated previously, we cannot prevent it. If the debris basin is filled before it can be cleared out, the next wave of debris is in the streets.

My guess is that March of next year will be a terrible time for this area due to storms and snow melt. Clearly, I don't wish for this to occur...but it's like trying to prevent the tide coming in from the ocean. It can't be done. But the city has taken serious prophylactic measures to prevent disaster.