Rains raise mudslide concerns for some mountain communities

Mountain towns like Idyllwild and Mountain Center got a nice soaking Saturday and yet again Sunday.

Some creeks in Idyllwild look dry and pretty harmless, but Nancy Layton knows better.

She’s lived in Idyllwild for more than 14 years and knows what could happen if rains come quickly in a short amount of time.

“The problem we have here on the mountain is we live on decomposed granite and that has an oily surface. When rain hits it and if it’s too heavy, it just washes off and it just runs off,” Layton said.

The Fire Department is passing out sand bags to anyone worried about flooding.

But they said there’s a much bigger concern for them after Saturday’s rain, rock slides.

“We did get a lot of rain yesterday, so the hills might be saturated. We did need the rain but we did get a lot in a short period of time and that’s the big concern, Firefighter Eddie Apodaca said.

These mountain communities rely on two major roads to get in and our of town. In the event of a mudslide and a boulder coming down and blocking one of these roads, that could mean big problems.

“If we do get an emergency and we do have to transport somebody to a hospital, our transport time is about 45 minutes. So if we have a road blocked to the route of the hospital that’s going to slow us down a lot and we are not going to be able to fly in the rain probably,” Apodaca said.

Firefighters said in these conditions it’s essential to be aware of your surroundings.

“Just be alert, drive slow and stay vigilant,” Apodaca said.

Evidence from Saturday’s rain can be seen in local creeks and on the streets.

But Layton said even though the rain presents some danger, it’s desperately needed.

“It’s not falling on the peaks as snow, it’s not running through the cracks as water, it’s not re-charging our wells. So our reservoir, our water sources up here for all three of the water districts are getting smaller and smaller and smaller,” Layton said.