TOPANGA : Residents Urged to Prepare for Rainy Season

As the rainy season approaches, public safety officials are urging residents of Topanga and other mountain canyons to be on the lookout for mudslides and flash floods, which pose an increased threat after last year’s fires.

The threat is greater this year because the fires left hillsides bare of vegetation, which helps retain rainwater, said Rosie Dagit, conservation biologist for the Topanga / Las Virgenes Resource Conservation District.

It takes about five years for the vegetation to grow back after a fire, she said.

The state Department of Emergency Services is offering numerous tips on how to avoid danger, said Carol Felixson, a department spokeswoman.

The agency advises those planning to go into mountain areas to check weather forecasts and to stay away if flash flood warnings are issued. Anyone in mountain areas who hears thunder should seek high ground. Approaching flash floods may roar like an oncoming train, according to those who have witnessed them, Felixson said.

Motorists should not try to drive over flooded roads, according to the agency. They should abandon stalled vehicles and seek higher ground immediately. They should not cross streams deeper than three to four inches.

Residents should set up emergency preparedness plans with neighbors, the agency advises. Evacuation routes should be set up on roads that are least prone to flooding and mudslides. Residents are sometimes wiser to evacuate voluntarily before official notification.

Anyone seeking further information should call (310) 317-4321.

Felixson said she had a close brush with death in 1980 while driving along a stretch of Topanga Canyon Boulevard during the rainy season. She said she had left Pacific Coast Highway and was driving toward the town of Topanga when suddenly, ahead of her, “the hillside started sliding down.

“I looked out the driver’s side window, and in a matter of minutes, the mud had come up, and was almost up to the passenger door,” she said. “I was terrified. I thought that I might die.”

She said she eventually managed to get out the passenger door, and that other motorists helped her get her car clear of the mud.

“I’ve had a very healthy respect for the rainy season in Topanga since then,” she said. “The power of nature is awesome.”

There are other steps homeowners can take to protect their homes, according to the agency. That includes placing sandbags in areas prone to flooding, and building barriers on private property to deflect mudslides, according to the agency. Homeowners can also install slope or bench drains to divert water away from homes.

Meanwhile, officials are afraid that the public may have developed a false sense of security, because there was no flooding last year, said Dagit.

“This year, people are not as up-to-date in making their preparations, because it didn’t happen last year,” she said.