California winter storm aftermath: No drought relief despite heavy ra

Preparing for the worst: On Friday, 9 year old Ava Shechtman helps out parents Michelle and David fill sandbags in preparations for the rains Thursday evening in Monrovia. Ava’s dad he only wished she shared similar enthusiasm cleaning her room – Photo by Terry Miller

California winter storm aftermath: No drought relief despite heavy rain

By Jennifer Schlueter

Following last weekend’s winter storm which included mud slides, power outages, and road closures, Southern California is now expecting its 70s/80s average temperatures again.
Even though the heavy rainfall brought a short drought relief, the National Weather Service forecasts a persisting or intensifying drought for the upcoming months.
NWS graphs also show that rainfall in Southern California has been up to 75 percent below average despite more than one inch or more rain fall for more than three consecutive days. The total precipitation in downtown Los Angeles was about 6 inches and up to 10 inches along the mountains.

Because of the Colby and Madison Fires and the rainfall, the foothill communities of Glendora, Azusa, and Monrovia were at a high risk for mud slides. On Thursday, precautions were taken, and warnings issued, including the voluntary evacuation of the affected areas. While some residents relocated to community centers, others remained in their homes.
Due to Friday and Saturday’s heavy rains, mud began to flow the streets of Glendora where the mail delivery for that day was cancelled, Glendora Police Chief Timothy Staat disclosed. Glendora City Manager Chris Jeffers said: “The damage done to our foothills is severe. Our experts that have done this assessment indicate that we’re going to be at this for three to five years.”
Once the pouring rain turned into sprinkles on Saturday night, Monrovia residents were allowed to return to their homes.
Due to mud flowing onto Highway 39 in Azusa, the road was shut down, but reopened on Sunday.
Sunday morning, according to Los Angeles County Department of Public Works spokesman Kerjon Lee, their “crews were out in recovery mode, removing fallen tree limbs, working to reopen roads by clearing rocks and mud and performing maintenance on debris basins and channels.”
The rainfall ceased by early Sunday, just in time for the 86th Academy Awards in Hollywood, which had already taken precautions for the anticipated precipitation.

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