Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Wiley Canyon Road Shut by Threat of Possible Mudslides : Santa Clarita: Authorities say other possible closures also hinge on rainfall. Public works crews remain on 12-hour shifts for duration of storm.
Heavy rains caused the shutdown of one road in Newhall on Monday and if they continue as expected, more road closures are likely today.
Wiley Canyon Road, between Calgrove Boulevard and Lyons Avenue, was closed to anyone not living in the surrounding neighborhood. Although the road is still passable, it borders a nearby hill that is easily saturated by steady rains.
“It’s precautionary,” said Jeff Kolin, city public works director. “We have a geologist’s report that tells us that hillside is unstable when it receives several days of heavy rain.”
Similarly, Placerita Canyon Road, east of Newhall, will be shut down if Santa Clarita receives several more inches of rain, said Dennis Welch, who handles street maintenance for the city. The road is often used by drivers seeking an alternate route from Newhall to the Antelope Valley Freeway.
Up to four inches of rain is expected to douse Santa Clarita during the first half of this week.
“Right now we’re looking at rain for (a) few days, with some clearing on Wednesday,” said Robert Baruffaldi, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Some common flooding areas in Santa Clarita, such as Sand Canyon Road in Canyon Country and where Soledad Canyon Road borders the Santa Clara River in Saugus, have not shown the effects of the recent storms.
“We’re trying to keep the drains open, trying to keep the water off the street,” said Welch. “We’re also constantly running blade trucks though there.”
“So far, so good,” Kolin said.
Public works crews have been placed on 12-hour shifts for the duration of the storms.
Meanwhile, the County Fire Department has deployed swift-water rescue teams to fire stations in Santa Clarita, Altadena, Lakewood and Malibu. The locations were chosen for quick response times to the surrounding areas, said Inspector Gil Sanchez of the Fire Department.
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. . . about the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys. B7
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