Urgent Debris Cleanup Continues in Pasadena

San Gabriel Valley residents try to keep debris out of storm drains

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} Already worn out cleanup crews in the San Gabriel Valley took to the streets yet again. On Monday, it was the pouring rains that impeded their work flow as they try to catch up, before getting washed out.

"We are from different divisions of the city coming together to clean up the debris," Carl Jones from Pasadena Public Works said.  He and his crew had been on the clock since 6 a.m.

 "We are going until it's finished," Jones added.

"It's been really tough. It takes a toll on you," said Pasadena Public Works employee Eddie Vihongskul.

Fallen tree branches and debris left over from the wind storm nearly two weeks ago were loaded and transported to dumping sites.  It was a race with the rain for workers from Pasadena Public Works before the waters could move the excess to storm drains and possibly clog the system.

Then, there is what has not fallen.

 "We just hope that none of the stuff that has been uprooted by the rain will saturate the earth some more with the water and will come down," Vihongskul added.

 Lisa Derderian from the Pasadena Office of Emergency Management warned residents to be cautious especially at night when the hazards are not as visible.  She was among the group with Cal EMA and the Small Business Administration assessing individual home damages from the wind gusts.

 "(We are) cautioning drivers to be careful because some of the debris on the side of the roads. You get standing water that will collect as a result of the rain and that will create a traffic hazard," Derderian said.

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 "We will be patrolling hillsides, extra fire patrol, public works is out there, water and power is out there," Derderian added.

 The work doesn't stop there. It continues around the clock with the goal to get all streets cleared up and in pristine condition for the Rose Parade in just over two weeks. 

The parade is scheduled for Monday, January 2, 2012.  The city of Pasadena has combined necessary information related to wind and rain damage on one website: http://www.cityofpasadena.net/Windstorm_2011/

 The Los Angeles Department of Public Works is asking customers to report any concerns and damages to their 211 line.  You can also check http://dpw.lacounty.gov/care/  for updated information and contacts.

Southern California Edison reported pockets of power outages during Monday's showers but could not specifically pinpoint the rain as the cause. 

Customers on San Pasqual Street in Pasadena were without power at 11 a.m. totaled 1,600. Sixty of those customers will be "lights out" until 11 p.m., according to an Edison spokesperson.

Customers were temporarily without power in East Los Angeles totaled 391.

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