Storms Turn Homeowner's Babbling Brook Into Roaring River

SANTA CLARITA (CBSLA.com) — Floods and mud are a big concern in Sand Canyon burn area.

Dennis Dean says the stream that runs through his property used to sound like a babbling brook, now he says it's more of a roar.

The boulders have all washed away, leaving nothing but mud and debris behind. Towering over his home are bare hillsides left behind by the Sand Fire. Five of six homes were destroyed in the fire. Now he's worried about mudslides.

Every time there's rain in the forecast Dean has good reason to be concerned, the stream here may look like a trickle now, but with the storm a couple of weeks ago, water was traveling at 50 miles per hour.

Dean says a flood came out of nowhere at about 3 a.m. recently, waking him from a deep sleep.

"I could hear trees breaking, and it was like a freight train and just a real loud rumble," Dean said.  "I had no idea that it was flooding to the extent that it was because when I went to bed there was no water in the creek at all."

Dean says he knows the forecast for the next couple of days doesn't call for a lot of rain, but he says there's no way to know when the saturated hillside will just give way.

Why does Dean put up with the potential disaster:

"Trees, birds quietness, being away from the city. There's no drive-by shootings, no sirens, you don't get a parking ticket."