California rains help douse wildfires but risk toxic runoff, mudslides

Rains in southern California have raised hopes for firefighters working to douse wildfires that have ravaged Los Angeles and the surrounding areas.

But officials have also warned residents of the possibility of mudslides and a runoff of toxic sludge as the rains were set to continue through Monday.

The increase in “shower and thunderstorm activity” across the area “may result in localised areas of burn scar flash flooding, including debris flow activity”, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in its most recent update late on Sunday.

The warning applies to areas scorched by the still-active Palisades, Eaton, and Hughes fires, which together have burned more than 15,300 hectares (38,000 acres) in Los Angeles County.

Regions burned by the since-contained Franklin, Hurst, and Bridge fires, which first broke out in September of last year, are also at risk.

Joe Sirard, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Oxnard, west of Los Angeles, said that even a relatively small amount of rain can cause dangers.

“All these fresh burns are very susceptible to rapid runoff,” Sirard said. “What that means is we have a fairly high danger of mud and debris flows once we get above those thresholds.”

As of 3am local time (11:00 GMT) on Monday, Los Angeles International Airport had reported a little under 2.5cm (1 inch) of rain over the previous 24-hour period.

 

Meanwhile, officials said several schools in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District were closed on Monday “due to dangerous road conditions and challenges with access”.

A portion of the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles County also was closed as of Sunday afternoon due to mudflows in Topanga Canyon, the California Department of Transportation said.

Officials have further cautioned that the runoff from recent burn zones – an ashy mix of incinerated cars, batteries, building materials, pesticides, asbestos, plastics and lead – can be toxic.

Despite the risks, the weather forecast for southern California may bode well for firefighters straining to douse the final pockets of the remaining fires.

As of Monday, the largest fire, the Palisades, was 90 percent contained. The blaze, which began on January 7, has destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 11 people.

The Eaton fire, which began on the same day and has killed at least 16 people, was 98 percent contained.

And the Hughes fire, which was sparked on January 22, was 95 percent contained.

Southern California has seen increased drought conditions since December, with portions of Los Angeles County continuing to experience “extreme drought”, according to the US Drought Monitor maintained by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Extreme drought is the second-highest classification of the tracker.

 

 

The blazes have been further exacerbated by Santa Ana winds, which carry warm and dry air to the California coast.

Climate scientists say that increasingly warm and dry conditions caused by human-caused climate change increase the frequency and severity of wildfires.

US President Donald Trump travelled to California last week to assess the fire damage while continuing his attacks on Democratic leaders in the state.

Trump has falsely claimed officials could have provided more water from the state’s northern reaches to battle the blazes.

On Sunday, Trump issued an executive order claiming authority for federal agencies to circumvent state water management if their practices are deemed ineffective.