Strong winds, dry conditions lingering across SoCal but looming rain raises landslides fears

After a long stretch of dry and windy conditions, some parts of Southern California could see rain this weekend and officials say the region should be prepared.

Strong winds are lingering across SoCal, contributing to dangerous fire conditions. But there's now a landslide threat in fire areas ahead of rain.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday issued an executive order to expedite debris removal from burn areas and install reinforcement barriers and sandbags with rain in the forecast for this weekend.

"This is to prevent additional damage to areas already ravished by fire, and also to protect our watershed, beaches and ocean from toxic runoff," she said during a Tuesday morning press conference.

The order directs public works crews to clear and remove vegetation, shore up potentially vulnerable hillsides and reinforce roads ahead of the rainy weather. The work will also consist of restoring pump stations that capture stormwater and divert it to the sewer system in order to prevent fire-contaminated stormwater from making it to the ocean.

Last week, a home that was spared by the Palisades Fire was badly damaged by a landslide.

Fierce winds and wildfires have shifted land in the burn areas of the Eaton and Palisades fires, raising the risk of mudslides and debris flows.

L.A. City Councilwoman Traci Park, who also attended the press conference, explained why it's so important to be proactive before the possible rain.

"Let me point out the obvious, the burn scar of the Palisades fire not only sits feet from the ocean itself, but already on hillsides that are already prone to slide and which have already absorbed a tremendous amount of water from firefighting, broken pipes and melted pools. Adding water to this mess and saturated, unstable hillsides is the last thing we need, but we already know at some point, it's going to happen," she said, adding: "And let me remind folks burn scars don't absorb water at a normal rate. They simply add to the risk of floods, landslides and debris flow."

After a brief warm-up on Thursday, a low-pressure system will drop into Southern California Saturday night. That means the possibility of snow for mountain communities and anywhere between a quarter of an inch to half an inch of rain across the rest of the region.

That system will linger through Monday, increasing the risk of mudslides and debris flows in fire-scarred areas.

Students impacted by the Palisades Fire are slowly returning to some sort of normalcy as schools are beginning to reopen.

On Tuesday, Webster Elementary welcomed back students.

The district said Malibu Elementary, Middle and High schools still don't have power and remain closed.

"We're monitoring conditions and will notify families of changes," said the district in a post on X.

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District said it's taken steps to address air quality concerns, including installing air filters in classrooms, asking staff to keep windows and doors closed, adjusting outdoor activities, and monitoring air quality index levels.

The district is also asking families who lost homes or are displaced to fill out a survey to better understand and support their needs.

Over in Pasadena, students will be returning to school on Thursday.

Pasadena Unified will reopen schools in phases over a two-week period, with all students back to school by the end of January. Campuses located furthest from the fire zone will reopen first.

Each campus will reopen only after cleaning, sanitizing and testing for safe environmental levels.

Here's a list of PUSD schools reopening on Thursday.

• Hamilton Elementary

• Willard Elementary and *Children's Center

• Blair Middle and High School

• San Rafael Elementary

• McKinley School

• *Rose City High School

• *Center for Independent Study

• *Pasadena Adult Living Skills

• *Twilight Adult School

• *Aveson Global Leadership Academy (charter) - Sports Academy

*located on the Wilson campus

Strong winds gusted across the Inland Empire overnight and into Tuesday morning, keeping the region on alert for any potential fires.

Crews responded overnight to a fire at a Southern California Edison substation near Alder Avenue and Sierra Lakes Parkway in Rialto. Video from the scene showed the whipping winds creating erratic fire behavior.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, and the extent of the damage remains unclear.

Strong winds gusted across the Inland Empire overnight and into Tuesday morning, keeping the region on alert for any potential fires.

Meanwhile, residents in mountain and foothill communities of the Inland Empire were bracing for possible power shutoffs amid the gusty conditions.

SoCal Edison says it could cut power to more than 250,000 customers on Tuesday.

Evacuation orders that were issued have expanded due to a growing vegetation fire that broke out in the Bonsall area of San Diego County Tuesday morning.

As of 4:10 a.m., the Lilac Fire has grown more than 50 acres, according to Cal Fire.