Evacuation Orders Lifted For Burbank Neighborhood, Still In Place For La Tuna Canyon
BURBANK (CBSLA) – Evacuation orders were lifted late Wednesday night for a residential Burbank street following a mudslide caused by this week's storm.
However, evacuations remained in place Thursday for a Sun Valley neighborhood due to debris flow and storm damage.
All evacuations along County Club Drive in Burbank – which had been prompted by the several inches of rain-- were lifted and residents only were being allowed to return to their homes provided they show identification to officers, city officials said.
Eleven homes at the top of Country Club Drive have been issued orders to boil tap water from Burbank Water and Power until further notice. Street parking on County Club Drive is still prohibited at least through Friday as crews work on cleanup and repairs.
Evacuation orders remain in place for Stough Nature Center, the Wildwood Canyon Recreation Area and the DeBell Golf Course, officials said. Hiking trails also remain closed.
The area was hit by an early morning mudslide Tuesday that grabbed some cars and an RV out of driveways and carried them down, smashing at least one, overturning another and engulfing others with mud. Burbank Fire Department Battalion Chief John Owings said the slide occurred because of a loaded debris basin above Country Club Drive. One of the vehicles carried off in the mudslide struck a three-quarter-inch natural gas line in the 1200 block of Country Club Drive. City officials said homes on the street had no gas, electricity or water service.
"Within minutes there were cars washing down, power lines washing down, huge boulders coming down, huge trees coming down," resident Heidi Donato said. "It was insane."
Evacuation orders remained in effect for 23 homes between 8300 and 8800 La Tuna Canyon Road in Sun Valley. Residents on La Tuna Canyon south of those homes were encouraged to voluntarily evacuate.
La Tuna Canyon Road between Sunland Boulevard to the 9100 block of La Tuna Canyon was reopened Wednesday night. The rest of La Tuna Canyon to the 210 Freeway remains closed.
An evacuation center was operating at the Sun Valley Recreation Center, 8133 Vineland Ave.
After Tuesday's downpours, Los Angeles County's Upper Sunset Debris Basin above Burbank is full of mud, water and debris, officials said late Tuesday in a statement reported by the Los Angeles Daily News. But it's functioning and not at risk of failing.
The facility is in the La Tuna burn area, which was the site of intense rain Tuesday, prompting debris flows that had officials concerned. County Public Works Director Mark Pestrella said all 172 of the county flood control system's debris basins and 14 major dams weathered the first major storm of the season "without issue," the Daily News reported.
The La Tuna Fire broke out Sept. 1, 2017, and charred nearly 7,200 acres, destroyed five houses and turned out to be the biggest fire ever in the city of Los Angeles.
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