Southern California braces for mudslides, homes evacuated

[cory777]

Source: Reuters


LOS ANGELES
Mon Jan 18, 2010 7:37pm EST


LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The first of several strong Pacific storms swept into Southern California on Monday, knocking out power and prompting the evacuation of more than 100 homes due to the risk of major mudslides.

Heavy rains forced the mandatory evacuations in the La Canada-Flintridge area north of Los Angeles, where last year's massive wildfires left hillsides barren and vulnerable to mudslides, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

About 44,560 customers in Southern California Edison's service area were without power on Monday afternoon, a company spokesman said.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60I05M20100119?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews

[Grassy Knoll]

1. Very sad......

to bad the storm couldn't happen at the limpdick residence in Florida .

[msongs]

2. 1.5 inches here, all over now nt

[goclark]

3. So far we still have power but my cousin

lives 5 blocks away and he has not had power for the last 6 hours.

That's in Los Angeles.

[Nikki Stone1]

4. Where, in the city?

I have friends in the evacuated areas and I haven't heard from them yet. :scared:

[goclark]

7. About 15 minutes North of the Airport nt

[Quixote1818]

5. There is a moderate to strong El Nino in place. This is probably just the beginning

for California this winter into spring. The good news is California may be out of its drought by the end of spring if El Nino does what it usually does to S. Cal.

[kestrel91316]

6. We dodged a bullet today. It was raining VERY hard and howling, cold winds

most of the day in the SF Valley. Surface streets flooded, but no mudslides in the foothills to the east.

But now the soils are saturated. And the BIG storm is Wednesday/Thursday.

Glad I don't live beneath burn areas......

[Wilms]

8. I'm well beneath, but beneath just the same.

As surreal as the fire and smoke was, the color of the mountain since, and the dust swirling round my feet, struck me as ominous.

:scared: For my neighbors up the road.

[AsahinaKimi]

9. Mudslides were the results of the Fires last summer

The vegetation including the roots were burned out. Nothing to hold the soil when the rains come. I have seen half a huge hill come down in Santa Barbara. It took two weeks to clear a road under it.