Southern California is set to get much-needed rain starting Feb. 3 as state crews work around the clock to secure recently burned areas from landslide risks.
Rain is expected to start falling in Santa Barbara County on Monday night as the first of two storms reach the region this week, according to the National Weather Service.
Los Angeles and Ventura counties are likely to get rain starting Tuesday, the weather service reported.
The second storm is expected to hit the same Southern California region from Thursday through Friday, with most of the rainfall expected Thursday night through Friday afternoon in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the weather service reported.
While moisture in the region will help it recover from a multi-year drought that ended in September 2024, rainfall could trigger more mudslides in cities recently burned in the catastrophic Palisades and Eaton fires in the Los Angeles area, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“While moderate rainfall across the area is the most likely scenario, there is a 10-20 percent chance of moderate debris flows if heavier rain moves over one of the recent burn scars,” Newsom’s office wrote in a press release Sunday.
Landslides can pose serious risks to human health and wildlife habitats by compromising drinking water sources and damaging infrastructure, according to Newsom.
“Our top priority is to protect people and the environment from the cascading effects of wildfire damage,” Newsom said in the release. “Through coordinated collaborative efforts, we are reducing the risk of debris flows and maintaining the integrity of our natural resources.”
The governor has directed his Office of Emergency Services to coordinate state and local partners to deploy emergency resources to help impacted communities, he said.
According to the governor, the state has placed protective barriers on nearly 5,800 affected properties, for a total of more than 310,000 linear feet of material, or 58 miles.
On land burned by the Palisades Fire, state crews installed 7,350 linear feet of straw barrier, which helps control soil erosion and filter water runoff during storms. Workers also laid down compost rolls and silt fence for watershed protection.
In the Eaton Fire burn scar, state crews have also installed nearly 140,000 linear feet of straw and compost to shore up the land.
Meanwhile, the Pacific Coast Highway has reopened to the public in the Palisades Fire area, according to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
Parts of the highway are reduced to one lane each direction with a 25 mile-per-hour speed limit for driver safety and to help repair crews and first responders in the area.
“Caltrans strongly advises people to allow extra time for their commutes or to avoid the area if possible,” according to the sheriff’s department.
