The Palisades and Eaton wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles County last month are now 100% contained according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. However, as the Palisades community reopens to residents and clean-up efforts begin in Pasadena and Altadena, heavy rains forecasted to hit Los Angeles this week pose new threats of mudslides and floods to burn areas.
The L.A. fires vastly impacted USC’s community, with a number of students and faculty residing in impacted areas. As those affected prepare to enter reopened areas, AAA spokeswoman Gianella Ghiglino cautioned residents to be aware of the upcoming rain.
“Residents need to be cautious regardless because of the debris that’s already there. However, with rain, there is a different added layer,” said Ghiglino.
Ana Gjurgevich, an instructor of clinical neurology at USC, lost her family home in Altadena to the Eaton fire. Gjurgevich has plans to rebuild on the same lot, referencing the neighborhood’s “really tight-knit” community. However, the risk of heavy rain has already inhibited the process.
“With the mudslides, it’s really scary to deal with, the ash runoff is going to be really really bad. It’s something I’ve never seen before but there’s not much we can do,” Gjurgevich said. She also referenced air pollution as a concern. “It’s hard because I feel like we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future with our health. The little particles of arsenic, asbestos, lead can even go into N95 masks.”
Despite these environmental concerns, Gjurgevich remains hopeful that recovery efforts are headed in the right direction.
“They’re saying they’re going to streamline the planning department so we’re not waiting to get our plans approved, so things will go even faster in rebuilding,” Gjurgevich said. “We’re hoping [rebuilding] will happen sooner than later, but I know things take time.”
That long recovery process in the Pasadena area has already begun, with a town hall meeting last week providing guidance on available assistance programs, according to Pasadena Now. The meeting focused on “navigating available resources during the recovery process, as well as debris removal and safety practices for cleanup related to Eaton Fire Damage,” wrote California State Senator Sasha Renée Peréz.
The areas impacted by the Eaton fire are most at risk of mudslides and debris flows due to the anticipated rain storms later this week, Rose Schoenfield of the National Weather Service office in Oxnard told the Los Angeles Times. Those rain storms include a large atmospheric river storm slated to peak between Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon, followed by a second storm on Thursday into Friday.
Ghiglino warned residents to “be as alert as possible” and to “give themselves enough time” when traveling in the next several days, especially as they navigate the return to communities impacted by the fires.
As part of the fire recovery efforts, Pacific Coast Highway reopened Monday morning in a limited capacity, with “essential traffic only” being strongly encouraged, Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said in a statement to ABC News. Horvath also said “this will not be the same PCH as before the fires,” citing continued cleanup and utility repairs.
Ghiglino referenced the Pacific Coast Highway reopening as a positive for L.A. County but emphasized the importance of extreme caution.
“It definitely does mitigate some of the city traffic that a lot of L.A. residents have experienced,” Ghiglino said. “You definitely want to make sure that you’re giving the construction workers enough space and that you’re being vigilant of them as well.”