A flash flood warning for the Franklin fire burn scar and a portion of the Palisades fire burn area has been canceled. The warning, the National Weather Service’s highest level of alert for possible floods, was issued at 7:40 p.m. Sunday as the storm over Southern California grew in strength.
Radar and rain gauges indicated thunderstorms were “producing heavy rain across the warned area,” which includes Malibu; Malibu Creek State Park, which is near Calabasas; and Malibu Canyon and Las Virgenes roads through the Santa Monica Mountains. The warning was lifted around 10 p.m.
Mud, rock and debris flows, which forecasters say could affect roads and homes in and below the burned areas, continue to be a concern through Monday as heavy, localized rainfall is possible.
Rainfall rates of 0.39 of an inch per hour were reported near Pepperdine University around 8:15 p.m., the weather service said. A rate of half an inch per hour or more is the point at which a debris flow could be triggered in burned areas, forecasters say.
A debris flow can happen when water rapidly flows downhill and, besides mud, picks up rocks, branches and sometimes boulders — something capable of damaging cars and homes. It can be life threatening.
Reports of mudslides and debris flows trickled in Sunday evening. Officials at a Pacific Palisades town hall said the Los Angeles Fire Department was working to remove mud that had accumulated on Palisades Drive on Sunday evening and that black ash-laden water had reached the beach. ABC7 Eyewitness News captured residents working to free vehicles trapped in mudslides in Woodland Hills.
Just before 5 p.m., Caltrans announced mudslides in Topanga Canyon prompted the closure of a section of Pacific Coast Highway. At 8:15 p.m., flooding was reported along the highway, said the service.
At 8 p.m., the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District announced it was closing all four of its Malibu schools Monday due to dangerous road conditions and challenges accessing the schools.
A flood watch, the lowest level flood alert, remained in effect Sunday night for the burned areas of the Eaton fire in the Altadena and Pasadena areas; the Palisades and Franklin fires in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu areas; the Hughes fire around Lake Castaic; and the Bridge fire in the San Gabriel Mountains west and southwest of Wrightwood.
As the storm brought heavy, localized rain Sunday, the weather service temporarily issued higher-level flood advisories for larger swaths of Southern California, indicating flooding is occurring, imminent or likely.
Between 6 and 11 p.m., the service issued a flurry of advisories for L.A., Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, encompassing the Palisades, Franklin, Kenneth and Mountain burn scars. Most were set to expire at or before midnight.
