erosion concerns

Yorba Linda subdivision below Chino Hills State Park.

By Guy McCarthy

Yorba Linda city officials warned residents today of potential for devastating post-fire erosion if hard rains hit slopes scorched and denuded by the recent fires.

"Due to the Freeway Complex Fire on November 15-16, nearly all the vegetation on the hillsides along the northern interface between the City and Chino Hills State Park has burned away," Yorba Linda officials said in a statement titled "Post-Fire Rain Events."

"As a result, much of the remaining soil and debris could wash down into surrounding neighborhoods when it rains. These mudflows may result in additional property damage."

More information for Yorba Linda residents is posted here. City of Brea officials have also posted information on erosion control on their site.

Showers are possible in the region next week, according to The Weather Channel.

One reason local governments take the post-fire threat so seriously is the Christmas 2003 deaths of 16 people in canyons north of San Bernardino. Heavy rains on steep mountain slopes burned two months before by the Old Fire unleashed tons of ash, burned soil, boulders and logs. The dead included nine children.

The Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register have stories here and here.

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