Evacuation orders issued in Los Angeles area amid fears of mudslides

(LOS ANGELES) — Evacuation warnings and orders have been issued for parts of Los Angeles County on Wednesday, near burn scar areas from the Palisades Fire, due to high mudslide and debris flow risks, according to the LA Fire Department.

“These are recent burn areas and are especially susceptible to heavy rain,” LAFD said in its warning.

The Los Angeles Police Department has also visited and issued evacuation orders to 133 houses in the warning area that are at high risk, according to Mayor Karen Bass. 

Areas impacted by the Palisades Fire — including the Getty Villa area, Highlands near the burn areas, Bienveneda area near Temescal Canyon Park and Rivas Canyon/Will Rogers State Park area — are included in the warning area.

“While we prepare for another storm headed towards L.A., I want to urge Angelenos to stay vigilant, especially in burn scar areas,” Bass said in a statement. “My number one job is to keep Angelenos safe, so please heed all evacuation warnings, stay vigilant and stay informed.”

Over 20 million people are under a flash flood watch in Southern California due to heavy rain expected in the early morning hours Thursday.

Rainfall rates are expected to approach 0.75 inches per hour in these burn areas, lasting over a two- to three-hour period — from roughly midnight to 3 a.m. local time — and may result in quick accumulations of 1 to 3 inches of rain early Thursday. The heaviest rain will fall in that early morning period, with lighter rain continuing through 6 a.m. or 7 a.m., and then becoming much more scattered in nature through the day on Thursday. Thursday evening looks dry, with another round of light rain arriving for Friday morning and early afternoon. This round is not expected to cause any issues.

On Tuesday, as expected, the Los Angeles area only saw a quarter inch of rain at most in higher elevations, with less than a tenth of an inch at lower elevations like downtown LA. This rain will have actually helped slightly to prep the ground for the rain to come early Thursday, with the rain no longer falling on ground that is as dry and hard as it would have before.

The heavy rain reaches San Diego around 4 a.m. There is also a risk for flooding in San Diego on Thursday morning as this heavy rain reaches the Mexico border. They are also included in the flood watch along with Los Angeles.

The storm pushes into central California on Wednesday morning, with the heaviest rain arriving in San Francisco around noon.