With the high risk of mudflows, Officials from the U.S. Geological Survey are warning evacuated residents to stay away from Station Fire areas in the wake of heavy rains.
"Based on all the rain we've had this week, if we get showers of any intensity there's still a chance of debris flows from the Station burn areas," Oxnard-based National Weather Service meteorologist Curt Kaplan said Thursday.
"We do have potential for 2 to 4 more inches of rain in the mountains Thursday," Kaplan said, adding that with a fast-moving thunderstorm, it may not take much to trigger slides.
Evacuation orders issued to the residents of more than 750 homes in the foothills remained in effect Thursday. The evacuated areas of Little Tujunga, La Crescenta, La Canada and Glendale are in Los Angeles county and city jurisdictions.
Earlier this week, debris flows 8 feet to 12 feet high destroyed USGS monitoring equipment in Dunsmore Canyon, USGS scientists in Pasadena said.
In a statement headlined, "Southern California residents urged to heed evacuation orders as rain continues," USGS debris flow specialist Susan Cannon evoked previous deadly storms in Southern California.
"The forecast rainfall for the next 48 hours is comparable to that which occurred during a 1969 storm that triggered landslides, debris flows and floods throughout Southern California, resulting in the deaths of 34 people," Cannon said.
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The storm forecast through Thursday is also similar to the Christmas Day storm of 2003, which triggered debris flows from nearly every watershed burned by the Old and Grand Prix fires in the San Bernardino mountains, resulting in widespread destruction and the deaths of 16 people, according to the USGS.
The warning might seem like overkill to evacuation-weary foothill residents. But an aging flood-control system of debris basins and channels offers only partial protection below the burned areas, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.
