Mud nears homes, shuts down major road in Sun Valley burn area
SUN VALLEY, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Mud flowed off wildfire-charred hillsides in Sun Valley, creeping toward homes and shutting down a major thoroughfare in the region Tuesday.
Debris was seen on front yards of homes in the area. Also, a law enforcement patrol vehicle became stuck on La Tuna Canyon Road after a ridgeline gave way, trapping the car in several feet of thick mud. The officer in the car was not hurt.
Mudflows shut down a large swath of La Tuna Canyon Road between the Sun Valley area and the 210 Freeway at about 6:30 a.m. The debris tumbled down from hillsides charred late last year by the Creek Fire, which burned 15,619 acres, destroyed 60 homes and damaged 55 others.
Crews were on scene clearing the mud on La Tuna Canyon Road when they were hit with another debris flow in the afternoon. Officials are urging residents to not try to drive through the mud until the roadway is completely cleared.
"People are deceived by the thickness of the soil. They try to drive over the roads, and when they try to drive over the roads, they get stuck," said LAFD Battalion Chief Jaime Moore. "Unless you have a four-wheel drive vehicle, you're not going to be able to drive through this."
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The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department had issued mandatory evacuation orders for Kagel Canyon, Lopez Canyon and Little Tujunga Canyon areas Monday, but the order was lifted Tuesday morning.
