Heavy rains in Los Angeles cause mudslides in fire-ravaged areas

Dirt and debris avalanches blocked major roads around Los Angeles after heavy rains hit the areas affected by wildfires last month.

Several areas of the city received up to 3 inches of rainfall in a single day, causing flooding and landslides in the burned areas of the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods.

The Pacific Coast Highway, a picturesque thoroughfare that winds between the hills and the coastline, which was also lined by mansions razed by the January flares, was closed after being inundated by thick mud.

The water flow also threw a Los Angeles Fire Department vehicle into the ocean. Authorities hoped Friday to pull it out.

The officer driving the van escaped when it was swept away by the water and suffered some minor injuries, a department spokesman said.

In the Hollywood Hills, home to movie stars and working-class people, a huge mudslide left about 20 inches of mud on the main road.

And in Altadena, where thousands of buildings were devoured by flames last month, several vehicles were trapped in debris and mud that flooded streets.

This havoc occurred despite extensive precautionary measures taken by authorities, who ordered sandbags and concrete barriers to be placed at locations considered at risk as protection against the arrival of California's strongest winter storm.

Although rain is urgently needed in the region, which until February had not seen significant precipitation in eight months, it is always viewed with concern in fire-stricken areas.

The risk of landslides increases in the hills of the area where vegetation, which helps to root the soil, was consumed by the flames.

Also, heat from fires hardens the soil and makes it less absorbent of precipitation.