A slow-moving rainstorm system brought a reprieve to Southern California on Monday morning after a lengthy dry spell, but also caused some mudslides in areas scarred by this month’s wildfires, forcing road closures and making driving hazardous.
The showers were expected to continue into Monday afternoon, with light rain across the region and intermittent bursts of heavy rain, forecasters said. The rain could reduce fire risks and help vegetation parched by the driest start to a rainy season on record in Los Angeles.
But the precipitation was also bringing hazards. Snow in the Tejon Pass, northwest of Los Angeles, forced the closure of a portion of Interstate 5 on Sunday evening, California’s Department of Transportation said. The highway remained closed as of 6 a.m. Pacific on Monday.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said there had been “debris flow” and “vehicles in the mud” in Woodland Hills overnight. Local news media showed images of mudslides in Pacific Palisades.
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District said its schools in Malibu would be closed on Monday because of dangerous road conditions and challenges accessing the schools. Schools in nearby Santa Monica remained open.
The National Weather Service had warned of a 10 to 20 percent chance of significant mudslides in several Los Angeles County burn scars, sensitive areas where fires burned through trees and brush.
In the burn scars, the charred soil could act like slick pavement when soaked by rain, creating the conditions for mudslides, said Marc Chenard, a meteorologist with the service.
“You just don’t get any absorption of the water,” Mr. Chenard said. “It just all immediately turns into runoff.”
The most intense rain was expected over the 24 hour period starting on Sunday at 4 p.m., according to the service.
The burn scars include areas scorched by the Palisades fire in the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles; the Hurst fire near the Sylmar area of the city; the Sunset fire near West Hollywood; the Eaton fire near Pasadena; the Hughes fire near Castaic Lake; and the Franklin fire near Malibu, among others.
Burn scars outside Los Angeles County had a 5 to 10 percent chance of experiencing mudslides, the Weather Service said.
Residents were urged to stock up on supplies and protect property with sandbags. A flood watch was in effect in Los Angeles County until Monday afternoon.
Light rain arrived in Ventura County, north of Los Angeles, on Saturday evening, and picked up across the region on Sunday, the service said.
The Los Angeles region had endured a brutal drought for months, feeding this month’s devastating wildfires, which burned across thousands of acres and displaced more than 100,000 people.
The two largest fires were nearly contained on Monday morning, with the rain further helping firefighters. The largest blaze, the Palisades fire near Malibu, was 90 percent contained, and the Eaton fire was 98 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.
Before Saturday, there had been no measurable rain in downtown Los Angeles this year, said John Feerick, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. He described the rain as welcome news.
“In general, this is beneficial rain,” Mr. Feerick said. “It should help with the fire situation immensely.”
“Now, with that comes the risk, because there are burn scars,” he added.
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