Rain storms could force road closures

With rain expected to drench the city and foothills throughout the weekend, Los Angeles County public works officials advised residents to expect some road closures early Sunday.

All county roads in the Station fire burn area, including Angeles Forest Highway, Big Tujunga Canyon Road, and Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road, may close starting 2 a.m. on Sunday, when the storm is expected to worsen, said Bob Spencer, spokesman for the county Department of Public Works.

“It’s not a decision that we take lightly,” he said.

The National Weather Service projected three to six inches of rain for the foothills and mountains over the weekend, with some showers dropping up to a half-inch per hour.

County public safety officials coordinated all day Friday on possible emergency plans for the weekend, Spencer said.

Glendale officials said they would activate their emergency operations center if conditions worsen and mudflows are reported.

But they remained confident that local debris basins would hold up during the storm since most of them had had been cleared since last winter.

“We don’t feel that there is a significant threat,” said John Takhtalian, assistant to the city manager.

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