Flash flood warnings end in L.A. County, but high water, mudslides and rockslides still a concern

A 5-year-old girl is missing and her father is dead after they were swept into the ocean by a wave at Garrapata State Park along the Big Sur coast Friday afternoon, according to authorities.

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident, which occurred just before 1 p.m. Friday when the girl’s father attempted to rescue her from waves measuring 15 to 20 feet, authorities said.

At Topanga Beach in Malibu, surfers took advantage of the weekend storm, which they said brings better surfing conditions and scares off the Saturday crowd.

They were undeterred by the brown and murky waves — discolored by rushing storm runoff from a nearby estuary.

“Guys show up all at once when the storm is heating up so they can catch the swell,” one surfer, Jesus Guzman said.

Another, Nick Kernkamp, checked the website Surfline.com to make sure conditions were preferable before driving to the beach.

“The waves were a little bigger than usual for this swell,” he said. “But I come when it rains mainly because there aren’t as many people around.”

But the Los Angeles County Department of Public Heath says it’s usually a good idea to avoid the ocean during and after a storm, especially near areas like Malibu, which has open wounds from January’s Palisades Fire.

“Due to current rainfall, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health advises beach users to avoid all water contact, especially near discharging storm drains, creeks, and rivers due to potentially higher bacteria levels in these areas,” the department stated Saturday morning.

Though cleanup efforts are well underway after the January Palisades fire, burn scars are known to contaminate water systems for several years following a major wildfire.

Guzman said he didn’t notice any side effects but a passing surfer said he had eye irritation.

—Gavin J. Quinton

Flooding and mud and debris flows caused headaches across Southern California as a significant atmospheric river soaked the region.

At least 58 trees have been blown down across Los Angeles, felled by thunderstorm-driven wind damage, officials told the National Weather Service.

Up to 3 feet of water inundated one of the Long Beach Boulevard offramps on the 710 Freeway, officials said. Floodwaters were also blocking some lanes of the northbound 710 at Long Beach Boulevard, according to the California Highway Patrol.

In East L.A., floodwater covered a lane of traffic on Highway 60 at East 3rd Street, causing several vehicles to spin out, according to reports received by the weather service. Large tree branches fell on the 110 Freeway near Fair Oaks Avenue in South Pasadena.

In Santa Clarita, rocks and debris covered all lanes at Soledad Canyon and Oak Spring Canyon roads. Nearby, large boulders tumbled onto Highway 14, blocking lanes of traffic. On the Grapevine section of the 5 Freeway, severe flooding covered offramps and the main freeway in at a couple of locations.

All lanes of Mulholland Highway were covered in rocks and mud at Stunt Road, about four miles south of Calabasas. Elsewhere in the Santa Monica Mountains, between Thousand Oaks and Malibu, a large rockslide blocked the road at Encinal Canyon Road and Zuma Ridge Motorway. All lanes of Malibu Canyon Road were flooded near Pacific Coast Highway.

In Ventura County, Conejo Creek overflowed and spilled out of its channel, flooding farmland in Camarillo. A mudflow also covered part of the northbound 101 Freeway near La Conchita. Mud and rocks spilled over the 101 just southeast of Carpinteria, and the freeway and its offramps were also flooded in Ventura.

The National Weather Service has canceled the flash-flood warning for much of Southern California, including Los Angeles County.

“The heavy rain has ended,” the weather service said shortly before 2 p.m. “Lingering high water, mudslides, and rockslides will still be concerns long after rain has ended. Heavy downpours are still possible through this evening.”

A flash-flood warning indicates flooding and debris flow are imminent or occurring.

A flood watch, which warns about the possibility of flooding, remains in effect for much of Southern California until 8 p.m.

As the storm picked up Saturday, workers from the California Department of Transportation scrambled to keep roadways clear of debris.

Rockfall and debris flow were reported near Topanga Canyon. Rocks were piling along the margins of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, where storm runoff hindered drivers and forced lane closures.

Along the coast, dozens of Caltrans crews were working at hillsides and roadways at hazardous junctions.

Speed limits were reduced to 25 mph near the many worksites between Temescal Canyon and Malibu Point.

Crews have already installed cable nets and erosion-control devices, officials said. Now, they are responding to emergencies, clearing debris with heavy equipment, draining flooded roads to reduce mudflows and removing any unstable rocks identified on steep slopes.

Side roads in residential areas are harder to control, however, especially in fire-affected areas more prone to erosion.

Paseo Portola Street and many others like it were littered with loose mud, debris and chunks of rock scattered down from the Santa Monica Mountains.

“I’m sure it’s created problems for a lot of people,” said Malibu resident Adam Gorski. “It was a problem in the beginning, and of course it gets worse around here when it rains.”

Gorski’s Las Flores Canyon home survived the Palisades fire with minor damage. Dozens in the winding Malibu neighborhood were not as lucky.

Bobby Vizcarra, a security patrol officer in Las Flores Canyon, said the rockfall has been mild so far, but warned that the worst may be yet to come.

“If it continues to rain and [the ground becomes] saturated, we’re going to have a lot of the earth moving, especially in the burn areas,” he said. “There’s nothing holding back that earth. Once you get it saturated, it’s going to come down.”

He added that when landslides happen, “they just come down pretty massively … without warning.”

Cars parked along canyon roads remain at risk, Vizcarra said, especially near fire-ravaged hillsides where there is no vegetation holding soil in place.

“One of our officers on Malibu Canyon, his unit was actually wiped out from a mountainside,” he said of a previous storm. “It just kicked out right on top of him and pushed him off. He survived, but it’s just one of those unknown things.”

A 71-year-old man died after his car was swept away by rushing water as he tried to drive over a flooded bridge in Sutter County, authorities said.

The incident highlights the danger of driving during powerful storms like the atmospheric river pounding California this weekend, and serves as a reminder to avoid flooded roadways, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The driver, whom authorities have not yet publicly identified, arrived at Fifield Road west of Pleasant Grove Road around 2:30 p.m. Friday to meet a delivery driver. According to the California Highway Patrol, the man stopped at a flooded bridge over Pleasant Grove Creek, where water levels had risen 3 feet, according to CBS News.

In fire-scarred Pacific Palisades, brown runoff pooled over entire lanes of Pacific Coast Highway, while unrelenting rainfall came down in sheets.

But the strongest storm of the season didn’t stop volunteers from gathering Saturday morning to begin restoring a beloved community mural first painted by Palisades Charter High School students in the early 1980s.

The mural survived January’s Palisades fire with minor singe marks. But that combined with decades of sun, salt and air pollution made the restoration urgent, conservationists said.

“Through all of the devastation, there is something really beautiful about the community coming together to protect this mural, no matter the weather,” said Davida Persaud, chief operating officer of MuralColors, a local art conservator.

Volunteers draped in rain ponchos and high-visibility vests used brushes to remove an old layer of protective coating from the mural wall.

One volunteer, Sara Trepanier, lost her home in the blaze and is still rebuilding. She said efforts like this are commonplace in the neighborhood.

“We all take care of each other here,” she said.

MuralColors, a Los Angeles–based public art conservation firm, is leading the project. Persaud said Saturday’s work focused on washing the mural’s surface — removing dirt, oils, ash and remnants of the old coating — while preserving the original brushstrokes.

“It’s been a long time since everyone first connected around this mural,” Persaud said. “Seeing people come out today really doubles down on that investment in community.”

Kat Kozik, one of the mural’s original artists, said the blocks-long art piece depicts the history of the Palisades in four panels, beginning with the story of its Indigenous inhabitants.

“It’s comforting to see what’s still here in the Palisades, because if everything was gone it would be too hard,” Kozik said. “Through everything, this land is still here, and that’s part of the wonder of this place.”

This week’s major storm raises the risk of flooding and mudslides. Here are some quick tips for driving safely.

Downtown Los Angeles has received more rain in just the last two days than it normally gets in the entire month of November as a powerful atmospheric river continues to douse the region, officials said.

By the end of the month, this November may end up being among the 20 wettest since 1877, according to Joe Sirard, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Oxnard.

Few Novembers accrue even 2 inches of rain, according to weather officials. Since 1877, the highest November rainfall in downtown L.A. was 9.68 inches in 1965. The 30th-highest rainfall was just 2.02 inches.

As of Saturday morning, L.A. County‘s coast and valleys had received 1 to 2.5 inches of rain from the storm, with 1.5 to 3.5 inches falling in the mountains, according to the weather service.

The rainy season in Los Angeles lasts from November to April, with the bulk of rain expected December through March.

Despite the unusually wet November, Sirard said experts actually expect a drier-than-normal winter. However, he said these types of weather patterns are hard to predict.

“Obviously we’re starting off wet, so we’ll see,” he said.

The Santa Barbara and Ventura county mountains have received the highest rainfall totals so far, ranging from 4 to 7 inches. The San Marcos Pass had received more than 8 inches of rain as of Saturday morning.

These totals are expected to climb through the afternoon, at which point the heaviest rainfall should pass and Angelenos can expect more intermittent showers through Sunday.

Caltrans reports that conditions on local roads and freeways are deteriorating as more rain falls.

The agency said trees are down on roadways and driving conditions are treacherous.

On Interstate 5, drivers are encountering fog and gusty winds between Gorman and Santa Clarita.

Southbound 101 Freeway in Ventura has two lanes closed due to flooding at California Street.

A flash flood warning has been expanded to cover a large swath of Los Angeles County, including the Eaton fire burn scar in Altadena, the rest of the San Gabriel Valley, the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys and downtown Los Angeles.

Flash flood warnings were previously issued for the Palisades fire burn scar, Malibu, Topanga Canyon and the rest of the Westside, including Santa Monica; as well as the South Bay, including Torrance and the Palos Verdes Peninsula; and much of Ventura County.

A flash flood warning for a recent burn area means that flooding and debris flow are imminent or occurring. A debris flow happens when so much rain has fallen that it picks up mud and other debris moving down hillsides. Minor debris flows can cover roadways and driveways with muck, while major ones can move objects as large as cars, damage homes and wash away roads.

“Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated moderate to heavy showers overspreading the warning area,” the National Weather Service said before 9 a.m. “Through late morning, expected rainfall rates will increase to 0.5 to 1 inch in 1 hour. Flash flooding is expected to begin shortly.”

Mud and debris can begin to flow from hillsides when rain falls at a rate of half an inch per hour.

A flood watch remains in effect for a much larger swath of Southern California, meaning that conditions are favorable for flooding. It doesn’t mean flooding will occur, but that flooding is possible, according to the weather service.

Citing a flash flood warning in the city through at least noon, Santa Monica city officials urged residents avoid non-essential travel and not to drive through flooded roadways.

Saturday’s storm could impact large numbers of people, but some regions will be hit harder than others. Flood watches are in effect for some 20 million people — starting at 1 a.m. Saturday for Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, and at 4 a.m. in all of Orange County and much of San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The flood watches are expected to end throughout the region at 10 p.m. Saturday.

If the rain delivers as expected, Los Angeles could record its wettest November in 40 years, and register one-fifth of its annual average rainfall by the end of the weekend.

Given the forecast, officials urged residents to avoid nonessential travel, and warned those who must go out to never attempt to drive through a flooded roadway.

In L.A. County, the areas most at risk for rapid flows of mud and debris are the Eaton burn scar in Altadena, the Palisades burn scar in Pacific Palisades, and the Bridge burn scar north of Claremont. Officials are also closely watching the Line burn scar north of Highland; and the Airport burn scar, located between Rancho Santa Margarita and Lake Elsinore.

The National Weather Service has continued flash flood warnings from large swaths of Southern California.

For Saturday morning, the warnings include big parts of Ventura County, Santa Barbara County and western Los Angeles County from Malibu all the way to Long Beach.

Across a wide swath of the Southland, there’s a moderate risk for flash flooding, urban flooding and debris flow, a type of landslide in which rainfall pouring off hillsides can pick up mud and other debris with punishing speed, vaulting muck at speeds of up to 35 mph into homes and sweeping away parked cars.

There’s a small chance of particularly severe weather, including locally damaging winds and even a tornado.

The atmospheric river storm soaking Southern California is expected to peak Saturday, with officials warning of potential flooding and damaging landslides, especially around recently burned areas.

Across a wide swath of the Southland, there’s a moderate risk for flash flooding, urban flooding and debris flow, a type of landslide in which rainfall pouring off hillsides can pick up mud and other debris with punishing speed, vaulting muck at speeds of up to 35 mph into homes and sweeping away parked cars.

The Red Cross opened three emergency shelters Friday to support those affected by evacuation orders and flooding amid the stormy weather in Los Angeles County.

The shelters are located at:

• Stoner Recreation Center, 1835 Stoner Ave., Los Angeles, 90025
• College of the Canyons, 26455 Rockwell Canyon Road, Valencia, 91355
• Arcadia Community Park, 405 S. Santa Anita Ave., Arcadia, 91006

The shelters offer meals, snacks, water, health services and overnight accommodations and will remain open as long as needed.

L.A. County have also activated the winter shelter program to ensure everyone experiencing homelessness is able to stay indoors during the storm.

As an atmospheric river storm barrels into Southern California, bringing with it the possibility for heavy rainfall and potential flooding, Los Angeles’ newly appointed fire chief has some sage safety advice: Stay home and get cozy.

“There are a few steps you can take to stay safe during this storm. Consider changing your weekend plans and stay home, cuddle up, watch a movie,” Chief Jaime Moore said at an evening news conference. “Spend some family time.”

While the worst of the storm isn’t expected to hit until early Saturday morning, there have already been reports of downed trees, he said.

Should residents need to venture outside, Moore warned people to avoid walking or driving through moving water and to stay away from any downed power lines.

Free ready-to-fill sandbags are available for pickup at all neighborhood L.A. Fire Department stations, while sand is available at Fire Station 5, Fire Station 64, Fire Station 91, Fire Station 77, and the Sunland-Tujunga Municipal Building.

Sandbags can be used to divert moving water, redirecting storm and mudflows away from property.

LAFD has pre-deployed resources across the city to respond to storm-related hazards. This includes a 22-member strike team with five fire engines patrolling the Pacific Palisades area, which is at high risk of mudslides and debris flows due to January’s fire, Moore said.

Urban search-and-rescue and swift-water rescue teams have been staged in the San Fernando Valley, while seven brush patrol vehicles are prepared to quickly reach narrow streets in high-risk terrain.

As Los Angeles braces for the ongoing storm to intensify overnight, evacuation orders have been issued to residents living in specified high-risk homes in Pacific Palisades and other recently burned areas.

The Los Angeles Police Department has notified 126 residents that they need to prepare to leave immediately as their homes are at the highest danger of storm-related damage, Chief Jim McDonnell said at an evening news conference.

“Due to the increased risk of mud and debris flow, the city has issued an evacuation order for specific properties considered vulnerable to safety risks, with a significant portion of those properties contained within the Pacific Palisades burn zone,” he said.

LAPD officers will patrol the evacuated areas to suppress potential crime while orders are in place. The city has opened an evacuation center at Stoner Recreation Center, at 1835 Stoner Ave.

All major burn scars in L.A. County are under evacuation warnings from 8 p.m. Friday until 8 a.m. Sunday.

Residents under evacuation warnings should also be prepared to leave should weather conditions worsen and can sign up for emergency alerts at alert.lacounty.gov.

Orange County has issued an evacuation warning for the Airport fire burn scar as a powerful storm slams into the Southland, bringing with it the danger of mudslides and debris flows.

The Airport fire ignited on Sept. 9, 2024, and went on to burn for 26 days, ultimately scorching more than 23,000 acres and destroying 160 structures.

The evacuation warning, effective 4 p.m. Friday, applies to residents living within the areas of Trabuco Creek, Bell Canyon and Hot Springs Canyon.

A shelter for residents who choose to evacuate opens at 7 p.m. at the Foothill Ranch Library Program Annex, 27002 Cabriole Way in Foothill Ranch.

Officials urged residents with large animals to move them before rain arrives.

L.A. County has also issued evacuation warnings in areas that burned in recent years. These are in effect from 8 p.m. Friday through 8 a.m. Saturday. The county has also issued mandatory evacuation orders for burn scar properties deemed to be at highest risk of flooding.

Wildfires destroy vegetation and root systems that normally absorb water and anchor soil, leaving slopes loose and exposed. The fire’s heat also creates a water-repellent layer in the soil, which can cause rain to run off quickly, creating mud and debris flows.

With this week’s rain, mudflows are possible in some burn areas such as Pacific Palisades and Malibu.

Here are some tips for dealing with the danger:

• An intense rain (typically about half an inch per hour — like a thunderstorm) on a recently burned slope can trigger a debris flow.
  
• Just a few minutes of intense rain can start a debris flow. The National Weather Service will issue a flash flood watch or warning for your area when rainfall is anticipated to be intense. Note that it’s the rain in the mountains that will start the debris flow, even if it’s not raining — or only sprinkling — where you live.
  
• Debris flows can hit new areas or return to previous areas; they might be smaller — or larger — the next time. Whatever happened before, the next time could be different.
  
• Debris flows move fast! If you wait to see if a debris flow is coming your way, it will be too late to leave safely. You cannot outrun a debris flow.
  
• Find the highest point nearby (such as a second story room or the roof) and be ready to get there at a moment’s notice. Listen and watch for rushing water, mud, and unusual sounds. Survivors describe sounds of cracking, breaking, roaring, or a freight train in advance of a debris flow.
  
• Debris flows can start in places they’ve never been before. They can leave stream channels and plow through neighborhoods. When a debris flow is small, people can control it with walls, K-rails and sandbags. When a debris flow is big enough, nothing can stop it.
  
• Storms that can cause debris flows can also cause more common flooding dangers.
  
• Be aware that the soil may be waterlogged and that more rain can trigger debris flows.
  
• Debris flows can bury people sleeping in lower-floor bedrooms adjacent to hazardous slopes.

Check your emergency kit. For a potential outage — and any other kind of disaster that might strike — you want to have an emergency kit in place. Have your supplies ready, including nonperishable food, drinking water, flashlight batteries, a fire extinguisher, cash, a first-aid kit and a hand-crank weather radio (you can find a full list of useful items here).

Make a plan for your family. Every plan will look different. If you have young children, make sure you have enough formula, diapers and other supplies to last a few days. If you have pets, double-check your kibble stash.

Make sure everyone who takes a medication has a few days’ worth on hand. If a family member uses a mobility device, figure out how you’ll get them out of your building without using an elevator. If someone uses a medical device that plugs in, make sure it’s fully charged and you have a battery-powered backup option on hand.

Write down pertinent phone numbers for family members, doctors and insurance companies, in case your smartphone dies and you lose access to your list of contacts. Decide where you’ll go if you need to evacuate.

Charge devices, fill your tank, check your batteries. Make sure all your phones, tablets, e-book readers and laptops are fully charged. Consider charging an extra battery pack, if you have one.

Fill your gas tank or charge your EV’s battery. Check the batteries in your flashlights and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and locate extras in case you need them.

You can find more advice on preparing for a storm, along with tips for what to do during and after one, in this link.

With an atmospheric river storm rolling in, many Altadena residents already traumatized by the experience of evacuating during the Eaton fire are now performing the all-too-familiar ritual of packing their belongings and preparing to flee.

Los Angeles County officials have issued evacuation warnings to residents living near burn areas across the region due to the risk of flooding and debris flows.

The area near East Loma Alta Drive in Altadena still has open wounds from January’s Eaton fire, which destroyed most homes in the area.

One Altadena native, Austin Solliday, now lives in a small trailer and camping tent where his home once stood. He’s fixed a tarp to the setup and, for now, is planning to stay put.

“I’m hoping I’m set up enough to stay there,” he said. “I have the camper parked and all sealed up.”

He said he plans to wait until conditions worsen before deciding whether to evacuate.

“For now, I’m just gonna try to ride it out,” he said.

Sandbags have been distributed to help minimize the risk of mudslides and flooding, while L.A. County fire officials and sheriff’s deputies were on standby nearby to facilitate the evacuation warning.

Further uphill on Canon Boulevard, workers used a forklift to hoist about a dozen concrete barriers purchased by a homeowner in preparation for potentially serious flooding.

Meanwhile, Tanya Kirk and her husband were packing their car with bags and their two dogs.

“We’re evacuating just in case it gets bad with the mudslides,” she said.

Like Solliday, the Kirks lost their home, which had been in the family for over 50 years, in January’s firestorm. They are living in a camper on their lot until they are able to rebuild.

“Hopefully it doesn’t get bad,” Kirk said. “Anyway, it’s not our first time evacuating.”

Camp Flog Gnaw is being postponed because of the rain in Los Angeles.

The annual music festival presented by Tyler, the Creator — which was supposed to take place this weekend on the grounds surrounding Dodger Stadium — will now happen Nov. 22 and 23 in the same location.

Southern California will be under a severe weather threat Saturday, with the most powerful wave of an incoming atmospheric river storm peaking over the weekend in Los Angeles County and bringing a risk of mudflows, debris flows and, possibly, a tornado.

If rain falls as forecast, this storm could result in downtown Los Angeles seeing its wettest November since 1985. Heavy rain brings the possibility of damaging flooding and landslides, with fire-scarred hillsides from the Eaton and Palisades fires at risk of fast-moving flows of mud and debris.

The worst will be generally on Saturday, from 3 a.m. to 6 p.m., said Ryan Kittell, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to be more specific than that 15-hour period, given the peculiar nature of this storm. And for any particular location, don’t expect it’ll rain heavily that entire time.

This storm will spin like a top, potentially making it sit over L.A. County for a longer period of time than a more typical cold front storm that moves with the jet stream, where forecasters can predict a six-to-nine hour window of rain, Kittell said.

“Because this thing is just spinning as it wills, it is a bigger window of potential,” Kittell said.

Most people in Southern California will not experience dangerous flooding, Kittell said, but there could be localized areas where dangerous or damaging flooding will occur on Saturday.

“Certainly, it’s best to be overprepared instead of underprepared,” Kittell said.

Rain rates have been fairly modest so far in L.A. County on Friday. But the rain is expected to intensify on Saturday, when most of the rain that will be dumped from this storm is expected from 3 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Eaton and Palisades burn scars could get an additional 5 inches of rain between Friday night through Sunday, said Ryan Kittell, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Oxnard.

There’s about a four-in-five probability that the Eaton and Palisades burn scars will see rain fall at a rate of 0.5 inches per hour or higher. In general, that’s an important threshold, as that’s the rate at which landslides can begin. If that happens, forecasters expect at least some shallow, minor flows of mud and other debris that could cover up roads and canyons in muck.

There’s also a one-in-three chance of a worse-case scenario for the Eaton and Palisades burn scars, in which rain could fall at a rate of 1 inch per hour or more. That could possibly cause more damaging landslides, “which would be certainly dangerous and life threatening,” Kittell said.

Heavy rates of rainfall can unleash torrents of water down hillsides that pick up mud and other debris, capable of turning parked cars into tumbling boulders and moving a wall of mud and rocks to damage or destroy homes.

Part of what makes this storm so unpredictable and potentially problematic is that on Saturday, it’s going to spin like a top. That’s in contrast to the typical storm, which is pushed along by the jet stream, from west to east, and is easier to forecast.

In a worse-case scenario, it’ll just hang around and dump a lot of rain over a specific area, so it might be a little unpredictable to exactly time out. And that’s the reason why it’s potentially so problematic in terms of debris flow. On the flip side, it could also wobble off shore, and produce less rain over land than we might expect.

This week’s rainstorm could make roads and freeways slick and dangerous. Here are some quick tips for driving and other rain safety tips from the pages of The Times.

1. Don’t enter flooded streets. As little as 6 inches of water can cause cars to stall or knock an adult off their feet. Two feet of water can sweep a car off the road, including an SUV or pickup truck. Any amount of water means you won’t be able to see what condition the road is in. Heed all road closure notifications and instructions from emergency responders.

The storm was only giving Los Angeles a light sprinkle on Friday morning.

According to the National Weather Service, the rain was falling at a rate of about a tenth of an inch an hour, no where near the type of heavy downpour that would trigger a mud or debris flow in the foothills.

The storm was stronger to the west in Ventura County, where meteorologist Ryan Kittell said rain was falling at a rate of about a quarter of an inch an hour. Not far away, parts of Santa Barbara had already accumulated more than five inches of rain before noon.

The burn scars near the Eaton and Palisades fires received a tenth of an inch of rain per hour on Friday, with the most concerning period slated for Friday night through Saturday, according to Kittell. During that time, it’s expected to rain half an inch per hour, which can be enough to trigger a debris flow.

The heaviest rain is expected to take place Saturday in Ventura County, along with western L.A. County and Santa Barbara County.

As the rain picked up and pools of water formed along the roadside, homeowner Armen Mehrabi arrived at his Altadena home.

Asked about the storm preparation in the neighborhood, Mehrabi replied “people around here don’t really care.”

He explained that the attitudes of some of his neighbors has been somewhat apathetic since January’s firestorm.

“There’s a street where only one house survived,” Mehrabi recalled. “I talked to the owner and he said ‘I honestly wish this burned down, man’ because we’re having such a hard time dealing with the cleaners, insurance, and these private companies.”

Still, there are signs of storm preparation around the neighborhood, most evident in vacant lots covered in loose gravel. Sandbags and barriers guard virtually every empty property on the block.

Uphill and across the street from Mehrabi’s home, workers installed orange netting along a steep decline, where burns left loose debris precariously above hillside homes.

“They put this in two days ago, but I haven’t seen any landslides,” Mehrabi said. “I don’t think we’ll have an issue here.”

Near Rubio Canyon Trail, plots where homes once stood soak up the rainfall. Many have prominent yard signs reading “Altadena is not for sale,” and all have prepared for the coming storm, wrapped with barriers and sand, with more piled on uphill portions.

Evidence of the blaze can still be seen in blackened trees, partial homes and the many no trespassing signs.

Plastic tarps, netting and sandbags suspended by rope are affixed to steep hills on Stonehill Drive. A pyramid of sandbags sits at the bottom.

Nearby, construction workers have placed tarps over damaged or partial roofs to seal a surviving home off from the weather.

“We put these up back a couple months ago when there was a little rain,” one worker said. “We’re still doing some roofing work, so we think water is might still get in.”

Sharon Gray owns Eaton Dam Stables, just a few hundred feet from the ignition point in the canyon.

When the fire raced through in January, her horse boarding business and the trailer she lived in were decimated. Despite the chaos, she and a small group reacted quickly, saving all 39 horses in Eaton Canyon.

As for the weather, she’s not as worried as other residents further uphill.

“I don’t have any issue with what comes off the hills. We didn’t have issues with the rainstorm that came a couple months back.”

“We’re just doing what we can,” she said. “Nothing looks like it wants to slough off New York drive, and they have those road barriers up still. We seem to be able handle rain. People in Altadena got evacuation warnings, so they’re more worried about it.”

Friday’s storms also shut down a pair of Southern California amusement parks.

According to the park websites for Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain, both parks were closed Friday “due to inclement weather.”

Customers with Friday tickets are eligible to use them on any other day the park is open through the rest of the year, according to the websites.

The atmospheric storm that arrived in the region on Friday is expected to drop inches of rain through the weekend, with the heaviest downpours expected to hit Los Angeles County on Saturday.

As their name suggests, flash floods can develop quickly, sometimes in just a few minutes and without visible signs of rain, according to Ready L.A. County.

Be aware of flood hazards wherever you live, but especially if your home is in a low-lying area, near water or near a recently burned hillside, Ready L.A. County advises.

A flood zone means the area has a potential for flooding during heavy rains or a weather disaster.

Two government agencies — the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services — provide information online about flood risks and other hazards across California. All you have to do is plug your address into the search tool to see what issues your home faces.

• FEMA Flood Map
• CalOES My Hazards

On the FEMA map, moderate- to low-risk flood areas are labeled with the letters B, C and X. In these areas the risk of being flooded is reduced but not eliminated. High-risk flood areas are labeled with the letters A and V.

A community’s flood risk changes over time, so the National Food Insurance Program and the Federal Emergency Management Agency continuously work with communities across the country to identify and map flood risks.

Prepare for flooding

Preparing for a flood — or any kind of emergency situation, for that matter — starts with you making a plan with your immediate family and neighbors.

Part of that plan includes packing a go-bag that should have important documents (in a Ziplock or another type of waterproof bag), medication, an extra set of glasses (or contacts), a comfortable pair of shoes, a change of clothes, small bills (a number of $1 and $5 bills), a phone charger, flashlight, water and nonperishable food.

If you have pets, pack food, treats and an extra leash if you have one.

Keep in mind every family member’s needs when creating your go-bag.

Emily Montanez, associate director for L.A. County’s Office of Emergency Management, said you should try to create a small community of close neighbors to check in with when disaster strikes. Consider creating an emergency contact list on paper in the event your phone stops working or the battery dies and you can’t check the contacts there, she said.

Check the flood risk in your area

Use a flood map to understand the flood risk in your community and whether your home is in a flood zone.

Follow Emergency orders

If an evacuation is ordered or advised in your community, evacuate immediately.

Montanez said when it comes to safety, listen to first responders.

“If anyone receives a knock at their front door from someone in law enforcement or [from] the fire department, we definitely support taking the safest approach and evacuate your home,” she said.

Stay in the know about warnings and alerts by signing up with your local emergency mass notification system.

Los Angeles County residents can sign up with Alert L.A. County, Notify L.A. and Nixle to receive notifications via text message or email. Stay updated on weather forecasts by tuning in to your local news broadcast station and checking the National Weather Service Los Angeles office website.

If a flood warning or watch is issued for your community and you have some time before evacuating, relocate valuables (particularly water-sensitive ones, such as laptops, tablets and smart kitchen devices) from lower to upper floors. You should also disconnect all electrical appliances or turn off electric circuits at the fuse box or circuit breaker panel.

If you have been evacuated, wait until authorities give the all-clear to return to your home.

Near Eaton Canyon in Altadena, the epicenter of January’s Eaton fire, driveways were dotted with white sandbags to help shield from debris runoff. Residents, including Andrew Beck, said they are concerned about soil toxicity during the flood threats.

Walking near New York Drive carrying an umbrella, Beck often talks to neighbors near the foothills at the epicenter of the fire scar.

“Some of the houses along Roosevelt, you’ll see lines of sandbags snaking,” he said. “I did the USC soil test program and it came back elevated levels above the EPA threshold, but I’m sort of zoning it out.”

At an empty lot on Loma Alta Drive, where a home was razed, builders had begun digging a foundation for a rebuild.

The pit was encircled by lines of hay-stuffed burlap to prevent flooding and debris from damaging the progress. By Friday morning, it began to fill will shallow pools of rainwater.

Disruptions at two of California’s busiest airports were at a minimum Friday morning as a huge atmospheric river began to drench the state.

The traffic was light driving into Los Angeles International Airport Friday morning, where the digital boards showing flights in and out listed few cancellations.

At San Francisco International Airport, there were 24 flights canceled, according to FlightAware.

There were less than 50 delays going in and out of the airport, the website reported.

A downed tree fell in Los Angeles’ Westlake District, blocking off South Hoover Street and damaging several vehicles, Fox 11 LA reported.

No injuries were reported.

While morning commuters in Los Angeles are seeing some light drizzle, Ventura County is experiencing the heaviest rainfall of the storm so far.

The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for Ventura County that is in effect until 11 a.m. Minor flooding is expected due to excessive rainfall in low-lying and poor drainage areas.

“Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles,” the Weather Service warned Friday.

VIDEO | 01:13

Fast-moving atmospheric river storm, capable of heavy rain, rolling toward California

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A fast-moving atmospheric river heads toward California and could pack a punch, with the possibility of periods of heavy rain, and a risk of flooding and debris flows in recently burned areas.

With days of rain here, driving the roads of L.A. can get treacherous.

Here are some tips:

Commuters navigate heavy traffic on rain-slicked westbound 210 Freeway

(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

1. Don’t enter flooded streets. As little as 6 inches of water can cause cars to stall or knock an adult off their feet. Two feet of water can sweep a car off the road, including an SUV or pickup truck. Any amount of water means you won’t be able to see what condition the road is in. Heed all road closure notifications and instructions from emergency responders.

2. Turn on your headlights. If your windshield wipers are on, your headlights should be too. It’s the law.

Flooding on PCH in 2025

(Carlin Stiehl/For The Times)

3. Drive slowly. Speed limits aren’t speed minimums. Leave extra time to get to your destination, and use extra caution.

4. Don’t tailgate: It takes longer for vehicles to stop on wet roads, so leave even more distance than usual between your car and the one ahead.

5. Check your tires. Make sure they’re properly inflated and not too bald to risk on wet streets.

6. Watch our video.