Southern California mudflows triggered by fire and rain, with more possible

By David Jacobson, Temblor

 

As rescue crews continue to search for those missing in mudflows that swept across areas scorched by the Thomas Fire just last month, another eye must be kept on parts of Southern California that could be hit by more mudflows. As of Wednesday afternoon, 15 people are confirmed to have been killed by mudflows in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Additionally, approximately 100 homes have been destroyed and hundreds of people are waiting to be rescued.

 

In the map below, produced by ESRI, the likelihood of debris flows in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties is shown. What should be highlighted from this map is that over 10,000 people live in the colored areas, and 60% of those people are in moderate danger of debris flows.

 

Under normal circumstances, the likelihood of debris flows would not be so high. However, just last month the majority of this area burned in the Thomas Fire, one of the largest ever in the state’s history. This means that vegetation that would have normally soaked up water is gone. Therefore, it does not take much rain to produce mudflows. Combine this with the intense rain seen earlier this week (up to 5.5 inches in parts of Ventura County), and the steep slopes of the area, and you have a disaster waiting to happen.

 

The timing of these mudflows comes almost 13 years to the day of a deadly landslide that struck Ventura County in 2005 that killed 10 people and damaged or destroyed about three dozen homes. That slide, in La Conchita, occurred after several weeks of on-and-off heavy rain. The ability to forecast where damaging debris flows may occur highlights the need to inform those who may be at risk. Unfortunately, even though Santa Barbara County issued mandatory evacuations for 7,000 people, those killed in the mudflow in Montecito were not in a mandatory evacuation zone. If you live in Santa Barbara or Ventura counties and are interested in seeing if you are at risk of a debris flow, ESRI’s interactive map can be used below.

 

References
New York Times
CNN
ESRI