Orange County is at serious risk of mudslides and debris flows as the torrential rainfall continues to hammer Southern California, prompting evacuation orders across the region.
On Monday morning, several voluntary evacuation warnings for canyon communities in the Santa Ana Mountains were issued by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
— Irvine Lake
— Black Star & Baker Canyon
— Silverado Canyon
— Williams Canyon
— Modjeska Canyon
— Live Oak & North Trabuco Canyon
— Trabuco, Rose, Holy Jim Canyon
The National Weather Service is warning that the rainfall in Orange County could be “torrential,” raising the risk of ecological disasters.
OC Fire Captain Thanh Nguyen is concerned about burn scar areas and others where the rain could get the ground moving.
“In the canyon, there is always a concern of how much rain is going to come down and whether the ground can keep up with it,” he said. “So there’s always the fear of possible debris flows.”
Nguyen says they’re keeping a close eye on the conditions and making hour-by-hour decisions about whether to activate evacuations.