El Nino doing its thing

[HCE SuiGeneris]

'Niagara' of mud hits homes

Dozens of houses in La Cañada Flintridge are damaged or destroyed in a storm that defied forecast.

By Rong-Gong Lin II, Victoria Kim and Ruben Vives http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rain7-2010feb07,0,55011.story?track=rss
February 7, 2010



An unexpectedly powerful rainstorm unleashed a torrent of mud that inundated more than 40 houses Saturday, leaving La Cañada Flintridge's northernmost neighborhood awash in boulders, dented cars and broken homes.

The force of the mudflow appeared to catch residents and officials off guard, as the forecast initially called for a light to moderate rainstorm. No evacuations had been ordered Thursday or Friday, when the rain began to fall.

But before dawn on Saturday, an intense band of rain cells formed over the mountains burned in the massive Station fire. What was supposed to be a fast-moving storm instead stalled, dumping rain at an alarming rate. The power of the debris flowing off the mountain pushed a 10-ton boulder into a critical catch basin in La Cañada Flintridge.

The boulder clogged the drain like a giant stopper and the ashen muck had nowhere to go but through the Paradise Valley neighborhood on the northern end of Ocean View Boulevard. Mud flowed two miles downhill, all the way to Foothill Boulevard.

more at link >>> http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rain7-2010feb07,0,55011.story?track=rss

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. Those quaint houses have a wilderness right behind their a quaint back yards.

It's easy to forget that, except when these things sort of naturally occur.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

4. Between 5 PM Friday evening and 12 PM Saturday

the Los Angeles area received about 3 inches of rain - on average. It was really amazing having that much water come down in such a short span of time in this area. Potholes 1 foot deep were pocketing the roads around here.

With the major fires in late summer, I'm actually surprised that more widespread damage didn't occur in the foothills region. However, for those that did receive damage, it looks like a terrible ordeal.

[cherokeeprogressive]

2. Get this: Some of these people want to sue the federal government...

because the MUD CAME FROM NATIONAL FOREST LAND.

[itsrobert]

3. Actually, the city wants the Feds to pay

Because of the way the feds delayed fighting the fire last fall.