Just caught this report about floods and mudslides in Forest falls, Oak Glen, Jenks Lake, etc, my old stomping grounds.
What gives? I don't remember anything like this happening in the last 40 years. Have there been fires? The last big fire I am aware of is the Lake Fire in 2016 or so,
Apocalyptic flooding in the San Berdoos
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hiiker
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2010 11:56 am
How we easily forget history.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Forest Falls has a long history of mudslides and debris flows that precedes the well-documented 1999 event
. A USGS report lists at least 11 significant debris flow events in the Forest Falls area between 1955 and 1997, based on newspaper and other accounts.
Documented events before 1999
1955: A significant debris flow occurred on August 24.
1958: Another debris flow took place on July 30.
1961: An event was recorded on August 24.
1965: Two consecutive days of debris flows occurred in November. This is a notable exception, as most historical events happened during the summer monsoon season.
1969: Major floods tore out a bridge, and the town was cut off for 10 days.
1984: Debris flows happened on July 17 and 18.
1989: An event was recorded on August 11.
1997: A significant debris flow occurred on September 4.
Just because it didn't happen in our lifetime doesn't mean it never happened. An simple internet search turned up the above info. I would bet that there's even more events that happened prior to these dates. It's nothing unusual and it's going to happen again.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Forest Falls has a long history of mudslides and debris flows that precedes the well-documented 1999 event
. A USGS report lists at least 11 significant debris flow events in the Forest Falls area between 1955 and 1997, based on newspaper and other accounts.
Documented events before 1999
1955: A significant debris flow occurred on August 24.
1958: Another debris flow took place on July 30.
1961: An event was recorded on August 24.
1965: Two consecutive days of debris flows occurred in November. This is a notable exception, as most historical events happened during the summer monsoon season.
1969: Major floods tore out a bridge, and the town was cut off for 10 days.
1984: Debris flows happened on July 17 and 18.
1989: An event was recorded on August 11.
1997: A significant debris flow occurred on September 4.
Just because it didn't happen in our lifetime doesn't mean it never happened. An simple internet search turned up the above info. I would bet that there's even more events that happened prior to these dates. It's nothing unusual and it's going to happen again.
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Edward
- Posts: 52
- Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2014 11:02 am
I certainly remember the winter of 1968-69. An epic winter for rainfall in Southern California. I remember creeping through flooded intersections on Pacific Coast Highway, passing stalled and abandoned cars, late at night. 27.5 inches of rain reported in downtown LA for that rainfall season. So I can believe the incident above in 1969. Were the others that bad? I am not so sure, without more detail.