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

La Cañada Flintridge was one of several communities that was forced to evacuate during the Eaton Fire, and on Monday residents threw a pop-up appreciation party for fighters who were pre-deployed this week ahead of another round of powerful winds.

"I've been doing this since 1997 and I've never seen a show of support like this," Cal Fire Battalion Chief Joshua Rivers told ABC7.

The impromptu event was organized at La Cañada High School, where pizza, ice cream, snacks, and even takeout food from a Porto's Bakery were served in the gymnasium.

Community members showed their gratitude to pre-deployed firefighters by organizing a pop-up appreciation party -- complete with pizza and ice cream -- at La Cañada High School.

"The whole city -- everybody's trying to help," said Cynthia Xue, one of the residents who donated food.

Mitch Landrieu, the former mayor of New Orleans who helped rebuild the city after Hurricane Katrina, will be playing a "key role" in Los Angeles' recovery from the wildfires, Mayor Karen Bass announced Tuesday.

During a press conference, Bass said Landrieu would be touring the Palisades Fire area alongside Councilwoman Traci Park and newly-appointed Chief Recovery Officer Steve Soboroff.

"I'm making sure this is an all-hands-on-deck recovery," said Bass.

Mitch Landrieu, the former mayor of New Orleans who helped rebuild the city after Hurricane Katrina, will be playing a "key role" in Los Angeles' recovery from the wildfires, Mayor Karen Bass announced Tuesday.

Landrieu took office as New Orleans was still recovering from Katrina and in the midst of the BP oil spill. He also served as the federal infrastructure czar.

With rain possibly arriving this weekend, Bass issued an emergency order today to shore up burn areas and prevent hazardous runoff in areas affected by the fires.

Park said, "We've never seen a burn scar in an urban area of this scope and magnitude."

"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," she said.

The order mobilizes City Public Works crews to clear and remove vegetation, shore up hillsides, reinforce roads and clear debris from neighborhoods and areas that were burned.

According to the National Weather Service, rains could hit the region as early as Saturday.

"With rain in the forecast, it's imperative we take aggressive action to prevent additional damage in burn areas and to protect our water and ocean from hazardous runoff,'' Bass said in a statement.

Crews are expected to install reinforced concrete barriers, lay down sandbags and clear debris, according to the mayor.

City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.

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