Other potential disasters were averted again Tuesday, February 8, 2010 after the Saturday February 6th flood and mudslides that devastated La Canada homes when a two to four ton boulder toppled into the Mullally Debris Basin, clogging a flood control inlet. Many other areas of the La Canada Station Fire burn area were affected by the early morning downpour on February 6, 2010.
A Torrent of Muddy Sludge
On the low end of Harter Lane, at 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning, Candy Horwitz, who had heard the downpour of rain the night before, got her two Airdales leashed and ready to take the walk up the road to the trail where she and her husband take their daily walks. As she walked out the door, she heard a strange sound. As she looked up the street and saw a torrent of muddy sludge coming down the hill, she changed her mind and went back into the house!
Hard Rains Fill Basins
Most of the people who live under the Harter Lane Debris Basin, and those lower on Harter Lane and Pizzo Ranch Road, had heard the rain hitting their roofs all night long, especially around 4:00 a.m. The week before when it rained the debris had been manageable. The rain was not supposed to hit as hard this time around. But this rain was so hard, Candy said she “knew it couldn’t be good.”
As others who live in the neighborhoods along the hillsides of the 2009 Station Fire opened their doors for the first time Saturday morning, they too were surprised to see the devastation. The damage was nowhere near that of the homes beneath the Mullally Debris Basin, but many of the other basins had been filled with mud and debris, and their drains were clogged as well. The difference with the Mullally basin was that a large boulder had fallen into the drain inlet, quickly displacing and redirecting an enormous amount of mud and water. Basins such as the one at the top of Harter Lane, which was a canyon with a large culvert and drain which emptied into a lower canyon, were able to fill at a more gradual pace. Yet they too, quickly clogged with roots and branches, and water spilled through and over the strong walls at the pace of the rain.
Harter Lane Basin
The Harter Lane Basin, shown in the pictures below, filled to the top, spilling water down hill. The k-rails at the sides of the road were helpful, but when the road took a turn to the right, the water kept rushing downhill, splashing over the k-rails and plywood blockade that had been placed at the bottom of the hill to direct the water toward Angeles Crest Highway, and away from the reservoir and lower homes. On Tuesday morning, before the Tuesday rains began, the La Canada Irrigation crew was at the bottom of the hill, emptying their drains of debris and mud. One of the reservoir tanks had filled completely, the first time in recent memory. The crew put up more barriers below the k-rails in hopes of preventing this from happening again.
Heavy Equipment, Public Works, and Construction Crews
It took a crew of 20 trucks, hauling mud almost 24 hours a day for five days to empty the Harter Lane Debris Basin. The City of La Canada Flintridge, private contractors, the Department of Public Works, street cleaners, water trucks, and one 50,000 lb. and a 100,000 lb. tractor were employed night and day. The drains will take longer to repair, but any further damage to homes was averted during the Tuesday and Wednesday rainstorm.
Yana Marshall - Yana Ungermann-Marshall is a writer, artist and Information Professional currently working at Altadena Public Library as a Reference ...
