Landslides

Charred slopes in the foothills towering above William Johnson's La Cañada Flintridge home are now a mudslide in the making after being charred by recent wildfires. But getting insurance for his property has been impossible for him and many of his neighbors, he said, as winter rains loom. Johnson, 54, said he called three providers, each of whom said they would not issue insurance for his area. "While I'm trying to get protection, they don't want to deal with their losses, and they're trying to maximize their profits," he said.

A subdivision where an unstable hillside is threatening 30 houses was built on land previously damaged by two large landslides--a fact known to developers and city officials, but not to home buyers. The place where geologists 20 years ago documented those landslides was later converted into lots for more than a dozen houses, and the unstable hill now poses a new threat to more homes.

Heavy rains triggered mudslides near the famed Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in southern Peru on Saturday, killing at least six people. Five others were missing and feared dead. About 400 tourists were stranded when the mudslides buried a rail line and destroyed seven houses in the town of Aguas Calientes, below the ruins. The rail line is the only route in or out of the town.

A series of storms is heading to Southern California and is expected to dump the heaviest rainfall since last summer's Station fire and send debris and ash rushing into such foothill communities as La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta. "This is their worst nightmare," said Bill Patzert, a climatologist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge. "It will be unrelenting." Four storms are expected to move through the region between late Sunday and Friday, dropping 4 to 8 inches of rain in the coastal and valley areas, and 8 to 16 inches in the foothills and mountains, according to the National Weather Service.

When Paul Ahmadi went onto the back terrace of his brother's home Thursday morning, he noticed that something was different. "There was no tree there" he said, gesturing to the backyard where it had stood the night before. Parts of the yard had tumbled from the hilltop home on Muir Beach Circle early Thursday morning, blocking off an area of Goleta Point Drive. No injuries were reported and the slip posed no threat to nearby homes. Neighbors called police at 8 a.m.

Ever since the Station fire swept through the Angeles National Forest last summer, many residents of the foothill communities below the burn area have lived with the fear of destructive mudslides that could come with winter's heavy storms. But geologists who have studied this week's downpours now offer a guardedly optimistic forecast. Mudslide danger remains, they said Friday, but their observations indicate that the mountains have held up remarkably well despite the naked landscape left by the largest brush fire in Los Angeles County history.

A landslide that sent multimillion-dollar homes crashing down a hill Wednesday in Laguna Beach was apparently a delayed consequence of last winter's heavy rains in Southern California, and could foreshadow more devastation to come, authorities said. No deaths or serious injuries were blamed on the slide, which announced itself with a bang just before 7 a.m., and sheared away part of the face of Laguna's scenic Bluebird Canyon.

When a thundering crash awakened Bruk Vandeweghe in the predawn hours of Feb. 12, he pictured an airplane slamming into the bluff beneath his house on a Culver City hilltop. Vandeweghe, a former professional beach volleyball player, hustled to a picture window overlooking his backyard. The accustomed panorama was there, from Playa del Rey to Hollywood. Much of his backyard was not.

SAN DIEGO -- A massive landslide Wednesday morning destroyed two homes, damaged several others and ripped up more than 100 yards of a residential street in Mount Soledad, a pricey neighborhood in La Jolla. There were no reports of injuries. Homeowners had been warned Tuesday night to evacuate because the city geologist and a city consultant thought a landslide could be imminent. About 9 a.m.

Rescue workers rushed to help residents in southern Brazil on Monday after landslides and floods caused by heavy rain killed at least 59 people and forced more than 43,000 from their homes. The state of Santa Catarina declared an emergency as rescuers used helicopters and motorboats to reach those displaced or stranded after days of torrential rain. The state government said the floods and mudslides had affected 1.

An unexpectedly powerful rainstorm unleashed a torrent of mud that inundated more than 40 houses Saturday, leaving La Cañada Flintridge's northernmost neighborhood awash in boulders, dented cars and broken homes. The force of the mudflow appeared to catch residents and officials off guard, as the forecast initially called for a light to moderate rainstorm. No evacuations had been ordered Thursday or Friday, when the rain began to fall. But before dawn on Saturday, an intense band of rain cells formed over the mountains burned in the massive Station fire.

Ever since the Station fire swept through the Angeles National Forest last summer, many residents of the foothill communities below the burn area have lived with the fear of destructive mudslides that could come with winter's heavy storms. But geologists who have studied this week's downpours now offer a guardedly optimistic forecast. Mudslide danger remains, they said Friday, but their observations indicate that the mountains have held up remarkably well despite the naked landscape left by the largest brush fire in Los Angeles County history.

A series of storms is heading to Southern California and is expected to dump the heaviest rainfall since last summer's Station fire and send debris and ash rushing into such foothill communities as La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta. "This is their worst nightmare," said Bill Patzert, a climatologist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge. "It will be unrelenting." Four storms are expected to move through the region between late Sunday and Friday, dropping 4 to 8 inches of rain in the coastal and valley areas, and 8 to 16 inches in the foothills and mountains, according to the National Weather Service.

When the rain started to fall, Janet Blake started to worry. From the picture window of her home, she could see the stream that was once her street become a torrent of stones, branches and mud. The fire was easier, she thought; that was only six days of worry. The possibility of the mountain sliding down upon her is indefinite. Her husband, Brian Hodge, worked in the other room, and Cooper, their yellow lab, stood beside her, his tail merrily striking the ornaments on the Christmas tree.

After a rainstorm that sent mud and rocks tumbling into roads, trapped about 90 vehicles on Angeles Crest Highway for hours and caused widespread power outages, residents and cleanup crews reported only minimal damage as the storm clouds gave way to clearing skies Sunday. Mandatory evacuations, which had been issued for more than 40 homes Saturday and an additional six overnight, were lifted Sunday morning in La Crescenta, La Cañada Flintridge and Big Tujunga Canyon, according to L.A. County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Nicole Nishida.

The strongest of three back-to-back rainstorms is expected to clear out by midday today after walloping Southern California on Saturday, sending mud and rocks tumbling onto roads, trapping about 90 vehicles on mountainous Angeles Crest Highway for hours and causing officials to issue mandatory evacuation orders for more than 40 homes. There were no reports of major damage or injuries late Saturday night. But more rainfall was expected overnight and into the morning, further saturating wildfire-denuded hillsides.

A weeklong barrage of rainstorms will test repairs to roads, ravines and utility services following the summer's devastating Station fire -- as well as canyon homeowners' patience if the deluge triggers flooding or mudslides, officials said Sunday. Los Angeles city and county workers positioned concrete barriers around denuded hillsides to steer muddy runoff expected from the first major rainfall since the fire three months ago that wiped out about a quarter of the Angeles National Forest.

With four days of rain forecast for Southern California beginning Sunday night, the best defense against mudslides and flooding in areas burned during the Station fire is a network of 29 debris basins scattered around foothill communities. During most years, residents have little reason to think about the basins. But the Station fire, the largest in Los Angeles County's recorded history, has left charred hillsides that federal officials say pose an extreme mudslide risk if the area gets sustained rains.

From her home in the high reaches of La Crescenta, Jackie Genofile watched last week as hillsides so recently denuded by fire, and so ripe for collapse, bore the new insult of rain. County officials had cleared debris basins at the foot of canyons. Residents had rigged sandbag-and-chipboard contraptions to block a slide, like burglar bars against nature's intrusion. All that was left was to wait. "Everyone was pretty panicky," Jackie said. "I was a little concerned. I kept waiting and saying, 'OK, if it gets rough, I'll just get in the car and leave.

Charred slopes in the foothills towering above William Johnson's La Cañada Flintridge home are now a mudslide in the making after being charred by recent wildfires. But getting insurance for his property has been impossible for him and many of his neighbors, he said, as winter rains loom. Johnson, 54, said he called three providers, each of whom said they would not issue insurance for his area. "While I'm trying to get protection, they don't want to deal with their losses, and they're trying to maximize their profits," he said.