Monrovia Canyon Park closed indefinitely as city begins rainstorm damage cleanup

After visiting Monrovia Canyon Park last Thursday, Monrovia City Manager Dylan Feik announced that cleanup had begun on the park — which had experienced tremendous damage following the rainstorm on Dec. 13 and 14 – and that it will be closed indefinitely.

“It is quite incredible to see the power of water and how it impacted our beloved park,” Feik said. “There is mud and debris everywhere. Sections of roadway are gone and culverts are filled in. The stream has cut new paths throughout the park and in some areas, 6-12 feet of earth has been eroded away.”

The cleanup will entail important measures such as clearing out debris, removing silt, sediment and rock from the park and beginning to repair damaged infrastructure. There is no timetable available on how long these steps will take.

“Our work will take a long time so we should all expect the park to be closed indefinitely for a period of time,” Feik stated. “We are preparing photos, aerial footage and much more information to share with you, and we could not complete this work without the support of our the community, our Park Naturalists, Trail Crew and Volunteers.”

Additionally, staff identified a broken water main in Monrovia Canyon Park which was caused by the debris flow. The water system in Monrovia Canyon Park, including the running water in bathrooms and drinking fountains, has been compromised.

Although Monrovia Canyon Park is closed, signs for “Do Not Drink the Water” will be placed within the park until the water main can be repaired.

Following the damages, the city released a Proclamation of Existence of Local Emergency, which recognizes the existence of a local emergency and assists the city to mobilize resources and provide emergency response. The local state of emergency enables the city to seek reimbursement for expenditures made when responding to the emergency.

City of Monrovia staff — including Public Works, Community Services, Police and Fire, along with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works – have also been monitoring activities in the neighborhoods of Ridgeside and Oakglade Drives, which are near the park.

The neighborhoods of Ridgeside Drive and Oakglade Drive have not experienced significant debris or mudflow onto the streets. Throughout the rain event, the Oakglade Debris Basin, a drainage structure, captured the debris and mudflow.

Another storm system is expected to make its way into the Southland Wednesday evening and is expected to linger through the holiday weekend.

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