Scorched SoCal Hills Ripe for Mudslides

Paseo del mar isn't

(NEWSER) - A 600-foot stretch of a Los Angeles coastal roadway has slid into the sea following heavy rains. A chasm 75 feet deep opened in Paseo del Mar as a huge mass of asphalt and earth slipped away in seconds from the top of a 100-foot bluff to the Pacific shore in the San Pedro region. No one was hurt, but the collapsing road took power cables, street lights and utility poles down with it as it tumbled to the ocean. "This entire coast along here is a cliff, so nature has created a new cliff," a city engineer told the Los Angeles Times . More»

Another pummeling for southern California

(NEWSER) - Evacuations have been ordered in mudslide-prone Los Angeles neighborhoods as the third storm in as many days bears down on the city. Heavy storms early this week resulted in flooding and a tornado warning. Police officers have been going door-to-door in vulnerable neighborhoods telling hundreds of residents to be out of their homes by this morning, AP reports. More»

(NEWSER) - The so-called Station Fire is closing in on Los Angeles residents who refused to evacuate with their neighbors over the weekend and are now trapped and in danger, KTLA reports. Five people are stranded in a canyon, according to the AP. "Those people were told to get out two days ago, and now we are putting our people in danger to get them out," says a LA County sheriff's department rep. More»

Pair drives off road as flames consume national forest

(NEWSER) - Two California firefighters drove off a treacherous road to their death as they helped battle a 43,000-acre inferno in the Angeles National Forest, reports the Los Angeles Times. More than 2,800 firefighters, 12 helicopters and eight air tankers have converged on the area where the blaze now threatens some 13,000 homes in Los Angeles County. The blaze is only 5% contained, and has already destroyed 18 homes. More»

Calif. fires come within a few miles of host's $50m home

(NEWSER) - Oprah Winfrey's mansion in Montecito has been evacuated as wildfires rage a few miles away in Santa Barbara, a source tells Us Weekly. Movers have been seen shifting the talk show host's belongings from the $50 million home. The fires have forced more than 30,500 people from their homes and emergency workers warn that downtown Montecito is now in danger. More»