Feb 9, 2010 3:10 pm US/Eastern
Evacuations Ordered For Mud-Ravaged LA Foothills
New Round Of Storms Threatens Hillsides Of La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Acton
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif. (CBS) ―
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A debris flow damages a home after heavy rains caused mudslides Feb. 6, 2010, in La Canada Flintridge, Calif.
David McNew/Getty Images
Homeowners in mud-ravaged foothill towns packed their cars and fled Tuesday as evacuation orders took hold and a new winter storm approached.
Officials issued evacuation orders for 541 homes on the hillsides of La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Acton and two canyons north of Los Angeles. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies went door to door, urging people to leave. Those that refused signed waivers stating that they were aware of the risk.
Evacuation centers have been set up for displaced residents. Homeowners in La Canada Flintridge and La Crescenta can go to Holy Redeemer Catholic Church at 2411 Montrose Avenue and those in Acton can go to the Acton Community Center at 3748 Nicholas Street.
Sheriff's deputies also asked residents to move their vehicles and trash cans away from the streets, where water and rocks roared through, smashing cars and concrete barriers together on Saturday morning.
Many people heeded the warning, lugging clothing and backpacks to cars that rolled down roads already crusted with the remains of a weekend mudslide that damaged 43 homes.
Vachik Salemi told a local television news station that he was tired of leaving and would not evacuate. He said he has been evacuated six times.
"You can see nothing happened to our house," he said. "By staying, maybe ... we can help other people that are staying behind."
Weather forecasters issued a flash flood watch for Tuesday afternoon through late Tuesday night for neighborhoods below steep slopes that were scorched by the fires last summer.
The National Weather Service said there was a chance of thunderstorms that could dump more than 2 inches of rain in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, where debris basins overflowed and damaged homes over the weekend. The basins are designed to keep mud and boulders away from homes near the burn areas.
About 300 trucks are being used to clear the debris channels.
"It takes weeks to clean the debris basins out entirely. We've been working around the clock since Saturday, load after load after load," said Department of Public Works spokesman Bob Spencer. "Hopefully this storm will be kinder to us."
The showers could put more pressure on the basins. Engineers have prioritized six of the 28 basins in the burn area, based on their size, current capacity and proximity to at-risk neighborhoods, Spencer said.
For more information about specific areas under the evacuation orders, visit the CARE (Coordinated Agency Recovery Effort)
Web site.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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