Mayor Karen Bass issued an emergency executive order Tuesday morning to shore up burned areas of Los Angeles and protect watersheds ahead of potential rain this weekend.
The forecast, which could bring some rain on Saturday, comes as the Los Angeles area continues to battle a catastrophic firestorm that has devastated a wide swath of the Los Angeles and Altadena coast in the foothills of the San Francisco Mountains. Gabriel.
Although precipitation may seem welcome as fires continue to burn, landslides and debris flows in burned areas can be highly destructive. The toxic remains of these urban fires only magnify the threat. Meanwhile, the region continues to face serious fire danger, which will likely persist into Thursday or Friday.
Before the next rain, Bass' executive order directs city crews to clear and remove vegetation, reinforce hillsides, reinforce roads, and clear debris from neighborhoods and burn areas. The city will install reinforced concrete barriers and sandbags to shore up affected areas and stop the flow of toxins, according to the mayor's office. The city will also work to divert stormwater into the sewer system to prevent fire-polluted runoff from flowing directly into the ocean.
“This is to prevent additional damage to areas already devastated by the fire, and also to protect our watershed, beaches and ocean from toxic runoff,” Bass said Tuesday.
There is a 60% to 80% chance of rain this weekend in Southern California, according to Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Oxnard.
Kittell said rain could arrive Saturday night and continue into Monday, with about a half-inch of total rain forecast for the region.
“It's not going to rain for the entire period, but there are one or two windows of opportunity for it to rain,” Kittell said.
