Los Angeles city and county officials warned residents to remain vigilant on Monday, Feb. 5, as the “Pineapple Express” storm continued to make its way across Southern California, following Sunday’s rain totals that marked the tenth wettest day in the city of L.A. since record-keeping began.
“With unprecedented rain came unprecedented preparation, and now comes unprecedented response,” Mayor Karen Bass said during a late morning update at the city’s Emergency Operations Center, where she announced she had signed a declaration of local emergency.
Bass urged Angelenos to follow evacuation orders if they’re issued, noting that emergency responders had to rescue some people who did not follow evacuation orders over the weekend.
L.A. Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said the greater L.A. area got two to five inches of rain, with five to 10 inches hammering the Santa Monica Mountains and Topanga Canyon area.
Crowley said the city’s fire department had responded to more than 130 flood incidents and 49 mud and debris flows, extinguished a half-dozen structure fires and conducted several water rescues for stranded motorists.
The fire chief mentioned during the morning news conference that the city had received an unconfirmed report of what appeared to be a 6-year-old boy in the swelling Pacoima Wash, which feeds into the Los Angeles River. An exhaustive search was conducted but no body was found. The search was handed off to the L.A. County Fire Department once the L.A. River crossed into the county’s jurisdiction further downstream, Crowley said.
Firefighters also evacuated 16 residents from nine homes on Lockridge Road in Studio City after a muddy debris flow significantly damaged two homes, Crowley said. No injuries were reported, she said.
The evacuation order for La Tuna Canyon Road north of Hollywood Burbank Airport, issued Sunday, remained in effect.
As of late Monday morning, firefighters also were responding to a mudslide incident…
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