Weekend rains could finally help tamp down the still-burning Los Angeles wildfires, but those rains could bring deadly mudslides and flooding to the communities in and around the fire zones.
After only 0.6 inches of rain in LA since October, the overall area could see at much as a half inch of rain starting Saturday and continuing into Sunday.
But the hills north of Los Angeles — where the Palisades and Eaton fires are still burning and only partially contained — could see more than a full inch, said Heather Zehr, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.
“It does look like this is going to be a decent rainfall for them. They really haven’t seen that yet,” Zehr told The Post. “The problem is its going to come into a very dry situation,”
When the water hits the scorched, vegetation-free, fire zones it could snuff the blazes — but also cause cause floods and mudslides that bury, smash, or wash away anything in their paths
Such mudslides killed 23 people in 2018 after heavy rains on wildfire-affected mountainsides in Southern California sent avalanches of mud and house-sized boulders crashing into the town of Montecito.
Furthermore, the roadways – which have had months of buildup of oil, dust, and ash – could become slippery death traps, Zehr said.
In the city, the rain could wash toxic urban runoff mixed into the fire debris into the soil and water supplies, said Jacob Weigler, Wildfire Coordinator for Central Pierce County, Washington.
“You think everything grandpas got in the shed out back, the lawnmower, fertilizer — that’s all burned up. So no telling what kind of chemicals will run off into the ground and water,” Weigler told The Post.
State agencies have already dispatched specialized teams to protect communities near burn scars.
“On Monday, Governor Newsom issued an executive order to help mitigate this risk and protect communities by hastening efforts to remove debris, bolster flood defenses, and stabilize hillsides in affected areas,” the governor’s office announced.
But when will the fires themselves finally be snuffed out?
The Palisades Fire, which has burned more than 24,000 acres of Los Angeles since it ignited on Jan. 7, was 63% contained on Wednesday morning.
The Eaton Fire, which has burned more around 14,000 acres in northern LA County, was 91% contained.
Although neither of those fires is growing larger, they will continue to burn until they run out of fuel, and in the densely forested hillsides north of Los Angeles, that could weeks.
“At some point, you just have to wait for the remaining fuels consume themselves. That’s all you can do,” Weigler said.
Even when the flames disappear, a fire may not be “out:” after a wildfire, firefighters continue to check the soil for roots and other fuel smoldering under the surface, ready to flare up once more.
But at least the fires are not currently burning any new buildings — after ripping through some of the most expensive neighborhoods in LA and dealing an estimated $250 billion in short and long term damages.
Read the full article here