California’s deadly wildfires may come to an end as a weekend storm drenches dry terrain, but the storm offers a new risk of flash flooding.
Flood watch alerts have been issued for areas in Los Angeles affected by recent wildfires, which broke out earlier this month amid hurricane-force winds after more than seven months without rain, a record for parts of southern California, NBC News reported on Saturday.
The 24-hour flood clock, as of 4 p.m. local time on Sunday, includes areas affected by the Palisades Fire, which has burned 23,448 acres and is 79 percent contained, and the Eaton Fire, which has burned 14,021 acres and is contained in 95pc.
The National Weather Service cited the risk of landslides as the reason for the watches, suggesting flooding conditions are favorable but not imminent. Federal forecasters estimate a 10 to 20 percent chance of significant flooding and debris flow.
“While damaging debris flows are not the most likely outcome, there is still a lot of uncertainty with this storm,” the Weather Service office in Oxnard said, adding: “The threat is high enough to prepare for a worst-case scenario “.
The burn scar from the September Bridge Fire in the Los Angeles National Forest above the San Gabriel Valley, along with the Hughes Fire area northwest of Los Angeles, which has burned 10,396 acres and was 79 percent contained starting Friday. .
Los Angeles County, along with cities such as Los Angeles, Pasadena and Baldwin Park, is providing sandbags to residents preparing for potential mud flows.
Rain could begin in Los Angeles County on Saturday afternoon and intensify on Sunday with the possibility of “moderate to locally heavy rain and hail or graupel,” according to the National Weather Service.
Forecasters predicted a quarter of an inch of rain in urban Los Angeles and up to an inch in San Diego, adding that Sunday could see heavier rain.
Winter storm warnings have been issued for the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountain ranges, including communities such as Wrightwood, Big Bear City, Big Bear Lake, Crestline, Running Springs and Lake Arrowhead, due to expected snow. The 48-hour warnings will begin at 4 pm local time on Sunday.
The weather service predicts that up to 18 inches of snow could accumulate above 6,000 feet, with up to 6 inches possible above 4,000 feet, from Saturday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
