LOS ANGELES, Feb 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — As Southern California recovers from last month’s devastating wildfires, heavy rains Thursday resulted in pockets of flooding, blocked roadways and mud piling up around recent burn scars.
The storm system largely moved out of metro Los Angeles late Thursday, prompting officials to lift flood warnings, according to the National Weather Service. While the storm’s departure marked an easing of immediate threats, concerns linger over the potential for mudslides and rockslides, which can occur long after rainfall has ended.
While significant devastation from the storm was avoided, the rains and subsequent flows resulted in damaged vehicles and buildings.
In Altadena, which was impacted by the Eaton fire, some vehicles were mired in thick mud as crews scrambled to dig them out.
In Sierra Madre, also near the Eaton burn scar, mud cascaded down roads at the bottom of hillsides, overtaking cars and leaving residents scrambling to help one another. Exhausted neighbors worked tirelessly to clear debris, some still living out of packed bags from the last evacuation before facing another order.
“It’s a resilient community,” Francisco Martinez, a local resident, said. “The debris flow, the mud … I’ve never seen it like this.”
In Malibu, a Los Angeles Fire Department member sustained minor injuries after his vehicle was swept into the ocean by a large debris flow, LAFD spokesperson Erik Scott said on social media. Video shows a vehicle partially submerged in the ocean after being pushed off an embankment.
The incident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday along Big Rock Road, located off the Pacific Coast Highway. The member managed to escape and was transported to a hospital as a precaution, Scott said.
Significant debris flows were reported near well-known Duke’s restaurant in Malibu, located off the Pacific Coast Highway. While the oceanfront restaurant escaped damage from the recent wildfire, backhoes were seen scraping mud off the streets nearby Thursday night.
In Los Angeles County’s San Gabriel Valley, a portion of the roof of a Smart & Final grocery store in Azusa collapsed Thursday, according to KCAL/KCBS. No injuries were reported.
Al Hernandez, who was at the scene, described hearing a loud “boom” before the roof buckled. “It was crazy,” he told the news outlet. “People were screaming and running, it was just madness.” — NNN-AGENCIES
