Hollywood Hills residents prepare for intense rain

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Saturday, February 2, 2019
Hollywood Hills residents prepare for intense rain
Residents in the Hollywood Hills prepared for Friday night's big storm and hoped it wouldn't cause mudslides or erosion on the hillsides.

HOLLYWOOD HILLS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Residents in the Hollywood Hills prepared for Friday night's big storm and hoped it wouldn't cause mudslides or erosion on the hillsides.

While the neighborhood hasn't been affected by a wildfire, the rains from previous storms including Thursday's has saturated the usually dry landscape.

The saturation has caused minor mudslides and hillsides to give way. The extensive rain has compromised some hillsides that have roadways that can't handle heavy traffic.

"We've had high stone walls get broken because of the hydrostatic pressure that builds up in the dirt. So it absorbs so much water and becomes so heavy that it just pops the wall out. So a few times they've just come down catastrophically," resident Jeffrey Schaaf said.

During a previous storm, a road was shut down after heavy rains sent mud, rocks and other debris flowing down the street.

The storm is also concerning for homeowners who have their property sitting on top of a hill that could be eroded by the rains.