A winter storm early Wednesday, March 10, 2021, caused mud to slide down fire-scarred mountainsides in Orange County, damaging homes and stranding cars.
A half-mile stretch of road in Silverado Canyon was covered in 2 to 3 feet of mud, according to Shannon Widor, a spokesman for Orange County Public Works.
Crews were using heavy equipment to clear the road, a job that was expected to take much of the day, Widor said.
At least six cars were struck by mud, according to a fire authority spokesman.
SILVERADO CANYON MUDSLIDES: This home on Silverado Cyn Rd has up to 3ft of mud. Two vehicles are trapped in driveway. Many sandbags. Residents in Silverado Cyn, Williams Cyn, Modjeska Cyn & Santiago Cyn Rds are under a mandatory evacuation order. More rain expected today. @KTLA pic.twitter.com/Sh9ZApaO7i
— Carlos Herrera (@carlosnewstv) March 11, 2021
The canyon, which is under a mandatory evacuation order, is closed between Olive Drive and Ladd Canyon Road. Residents can go to an evacuation center at El Modena High School.
By 11 a.m., crews had cleared one lane on Silverado Canyon Road between Kitterman Drive and Rancho Way.
As of 1 p.m., no deaths or injuries had been reported, according to a county spokeswoman.
Modjeska and Williams canyons were under mandatory evacuation orders, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department tweeted.
The Silverado and Bond fires last year scorched thousands of acres in Silverado Canyon, located at the base of the Santa Ana mountain range, destroying vegetation and destabilizing soil that cannot easily absorb rain, making the area ripe for debris flows and mudslides.
Pretty scary images in the first video:
Brandt Maxwell, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego, said there were reports of at least three-tenths of an inch of rain falling on the burn scars early Wednesday.
Around noon, the storm dumped a second round of rain, about a tenth of an inch, across the mountain range, Maxwell said.
Thunderstorms could pass through Orange County into Thursday. Maxwell cautioned that lightning can kill people who do not take shelter.
About 3 feet of mud being moved from #SilveradoCanyon Road. Crews expecting to work throughout day to cease roadway & remove tons of mud pic.twitter.com/345zyZfyhG
— OC Public Works (@OCpublicworks) March 10, 2021
For the third time this year, mud slid onto Ambrose Jimenez’s Silverado Canyon home.
The mudslide took place at around 7 a.m. Wednesday. It was accompanied by some laoud booms and bangs… It wasn’t thunder, but boulders sliding down the mountain, bringing mud and other debris. For more: LA Times
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