Voluntary Evacuations Ordered Tuesday For Glendora, Silverado Canyon Residents

GLENDORA (CBSLA.com) — Residents living near the mudflow areas of Glendora and Orange County's Silverado Canyon are being asked to voluntarily evacuate Tuesday morning amid an impending storm.

The city of Glendora is asking residents to leave starting at 6 a.m., followed by Silverado Canyon residents at 8 a.m.

Although Glendora's fire-scarred hills escaped Sunday's rainstorm unscathed, authorities Monday were busy readying sandbags to help homeowners prepare for possible mudslides and debris flows.

Rain totals for the foothills Tuesday are expected to ranch from three-to-six inches.

The neighborhoods in Glendora's foothills have already had a taste of what could happen with one overnight rainstorm less than two weeks ago.

"If it comes down like it did last week and stays for a while, we're going to have big problems," homeowner Eugene Moses said. "I'm just a little worried about the big rock that's out there could dome down and the mud could come through my back door.

In January, the hillside above Moses' home was among nearly 2,000 acres burned in the Colby Fire. The rain that came down in February nearly immediately after the Colby Fire was extinguished caused mudflows that ran downhill from the neighborhood on to city streets.

"Being that we're right at the base of where the fire was, the opportunity is there for it to happen," said Glendora homeowner Kevin Emerson, who was building a mud dam to hold back damaging mud and debris.

The Los Angeles County fire department, meanwhile, has dispatched additional personnel to every station and strike teams prepared to respond.

Sandbags are being distributed by Glendora Public Works at 440 S. Loraine to residents in the Colby Fire burn area. The entrance driveway is just north of the railroad tracks.