The intermittent showers sweeping across parts of Southern California on Sunday provided welcome relief for firefighters battling devastating wildfires but could bring an unwelcome side effect − mudslides.
The forecast raises the concern of too much of a good thing. Some areas could get more than a half-inch of rain an hour later Sunday, the National Weather Service said. Showers could linger into Tuesday.
A flood watch was in place for burn scars where the Palisades, Franklin, Eaton, Bridge and Hughes fires have burned, the weather service said Sunday.
“We’re expecting rainfall totals on the order of 0.50-1.00 of an inch for most of the LA basin, around San Diego and near the surrounding coastal areas,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Jacob Hinson said. Landslides and debris flows are possible in any fresh burn scars, where trees and vegetation that have been burned can no longer provide support to the land beneath it, he said.
Good news and bad news:Rain in forecast for California
Developments:
∎ Thunder and hail are possible in some areas before the storms move on, AccuWeather said. Some areas near the mountains could see up to 3 inches of rain.
∎ Many areas in Southern California have not observed more than 0.25 of an inch of rain in a single event for several months, AccuWeather said.
Think only California burns?Think again. Even Florida, Texas and New Jersey at risk.
Wildfire risk not just a California problem
California may seem especially prone to wildfires, but experts warn that the risk is increasing across the nation in places residents might not expect. Think Boise, Idaho. Salt Lake City. Amarillo, Texas, Reno, Nevada and Oklahoma City, said Kelly Pohl with Headwaters Economics, a non-profit research group in Montana that had done research on the cost of retrofitting homes to protect against wildfires.
“There are a lot of cities that share similarities with what happened in Los Angeles,” Pohl said.
A USA TODAY analysis found that 3.3 million Americans live in census tracts where the wildfire risk is “very high.” Another 14.8 million live in tracts where the risk is “relatively righ.” Read more here.
− Elizabeth Weise
