RED Flag Alert

9:30 am SM PD just finished a drive through the canyon  announcing condition  RED and voluntary evacuations are in place.  The storm that will be moving through today in tomorrow is anticipated to drop 2-3 inches of rain.  The City PIO site does not have the alert status posted but does have the weather forecast up.

Just spoke to a representative at the City.  The Red flag alert was called because ot the potential of debris flow and amount of rain predicted.  If there is a flow there is also a possiblity of Canyon closure.

Here is the e-mail alert:

The City of Sierra Madre spoke this morning with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works who is expecting a Phase 1, possibly a Phase 2 mudflow prediction for Christmas Eve. LACDPW will not actually make the forecast until the National Weather Service provides a more accurate rainfall estimate for the area.

Currently the rainfall range is 2-3 inches tomorrow, 12/24  through Thursday, 12/25. In the case of mud and/or debris flow the City will clean up the streets as soon as possible once the rain stops and it is safe for crews to enter the mud areas. This may mean that clean-up efforts may not begin until after the holiday.

The City urges all residents in the potential mud flow areas to be prepared for heavy rains and to stay tuned to the City alerts via email, flags, electronic billboards, the City website at www.cityofsierramadre.com and the Emergency blog at http://www.sierramadrepio.blogspot.com.

In the mean time the City of Sierra Madre wishes you and your family safe and happy holidays.

Thursday Morning

As of 7 am this morning we are still at a yellow alert level. Iam going to assume with no new rain forcasted that that will change by noon today unless there is some instability on the hillsides. 

It looks as if we made it through this big storm with no significant slides.  Take alook a the the lovely dusting of snow on the mountains today, since much of that will melt off as soon as it warms up!

Back to Yellow – UPDATED

Rain continues to fall this afternoon and is expected to continue this evening.  As of this afternoon no mud problems have been reported. I took a drive around the canyon about 1 pm and there was no evidence of any flows, just wet dirty streets in some areas. 

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As of about 6:30 pm last night the City reinstated the yellow alert level. Police came through the canyon twice with their bull horns announcing the change.   As of this morning at 6 am there had been very little rain, but now at 9 am it is raining quite a bit. This status will remain until further notice. Don’t forget the parking restrictions are in effect. Rain should be clearing by later tonight.

Green Flag

The city downgraded to a Green Flag alert level yesterday afternoon.   There is another storm that will be moving through tonight with a 70% chance of showers, and scattered showers tomorrow.  Those in the slide potential areas to stay alert during this unsettled weather.

Now that all the k-rails are in place and many of the canyon residents have done individual mud mitigation efforts on their property,  and the Conservation Corp is removing debris from the hillside, it seems that we might be ready for the rainy season. 

Just a note on parking clarification during a yellow or red flag alert:

During a Yellow or Red Flag Mud Alert Day, it is unlawful to park any vehicle on the following streets: Mount Wilson Trail; Churchill Road; Skyland Drive; Fern Glen; Fern Drive; Idle Hour; Canyon Crest Drive; Orange Drive; Woodland Drive; Brookside Lane; Sunnyside Lane; Yucca Trail; Holly Trail; Sturvevant; and Elm. Affected residents may park their vehicles on other streets throughout the City. There is no need to call-in vehicles to the Police Dispatcher for overnight parking during the activiation of a Yellow or Red Flag Alerts. Overnight parking restrictions are not enforced during Yellow or Red Alerts.

So if you have extra parking and want to be a good citizen, you might let your neighbor with street only parking use a space during these periods.

Yellow Flag Alert

As of this morning the City has issued a yellow flag alert. This means no street parking in the canyon, and to be ready for possible mudslides. The rain is supposed to start later tonight and continue through tomorrow. As always Bill has the latest at www.sierramudre.info.

Downgrade to Green Flag

As of about 6 pm the City downgraded the status to Green Flag alert. There is still a chance of showers tonight, however parking in the canyon can resume. I heard a bullhorn from a police car as it drove past but I called the PD just to verify. The City’s PIO website  has a full scoop, so does the City’s home page.

Canyon Open

As of about 12:15. Not sure if they are intending to open and close as needed.

Noon report

Upper canyon is closed. I went out to the Post office about an hour ago and was unable to drive back up.  I had to walk in. Yellow flag continues and upper canyon closed. There was a slide at 801 Skyland and as of this time it is still raining pretty significantly here.  They are not doing any evacuations, I just called the Police Department and they are ready to go to Red Flag if necessary.  If anyone has any additional information please leave it in the comments.

Also to note that the closure is not posted on any of the City’s infomational website or home page as of this time.

Morning Report

Our friend Bill Coburn was up warly and toured all the potential areas that could have sustained mudflows.  Nothing.  In his words we dodged a bullet, I agree. Here is his full report. City sites have no updates as of 8 am this morning.  My question would be when will they lift the yellow flag since the rain has stopped?

Yellow Flag Alert

Earlier this afternoon a yellow flag alert was issued.  Police and City cars drove the upper canyon with a bull horn announcing the change in status from green to yellow and to move all cars to avoid any towing.  This parking situation is going to be a problem if we get alot of rain this winter especially for those who only have street parking, and I think the City is going to need to re-evaluate. However lets see how this goes. They did put up signage reagrding the no parking, I asked an officer yesterday who was handing out flyers in the canyon, shw was unsure at that time. T

From the city’s website:

The City of Sierra Madre issued a Yellow Flag Mud Alert for Sierra Madre residences in potential mud flow areas. The National Weather Service is forecasting a 90% chance of rain in Sierra Madre on Tuesday and a 70% chance on Wednesday, November 25 and 26, 2008. The quantity of precipitation is over 2” for Tuesday, decreasing on Wednesday.

It is recommended that residents in the following areas prepare for potential mudflow deposition on: Auburn Avenue east of Auburn Debris Basin; the development under construction north of Carter Avenue; Carter Avenue between the development and Mira Monte Avenue; Mt. Wilson Trail near Mira Monte Avenue; Churchill Road near Skyland Drive; Skyland Drive; streets below Sierra Madre Debris Dam (Sumac Trail, Brookside Lane, Woodland Drive); Yucca Trail; Lotus Lane, above Camillo Street and Sturtevant Debris Basin; Sunrise Hill Lane; Santa Anita Canyon Road above Lannan Debris Basin.

Affected residents should prepare to leave their homes and may choose to voluntarily evacuate. Please note that all vehicles must be off the streets in potential mudflow areas during Yellow Flag alerts. 

One thing to note is there is no mention of  Canyon Crest as a potential for mudflows.  I believe that during the community meetings the maps indicated that the mud would flow from the top of Skyland and Canyon Crest down canyon Crest Drive.  Perhaps someone can help to clarify this.