BURBANK (CNS) - Some residents who were evacuated due to a mudslide in Burbank following Tuesday's storm were allowed back home today.
All evacuations along County Club Drive in Burbank prompted by the 4 inches of rain dumped on the Southland were lifted late Wednesday night and residents only were being allowed to return to their homes provided they show identification to officers, city officials said.
The 11 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.
Once residents return to Country Club Drive, they can push storm debris onto city streets for pickup, but trash must be placed in the appropriate trash bin, city officials said.
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. 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.
Evacuation orders were also in effect for 23 homes between 8300 and 8800 La Tuna Canyon Road. Residents on La Tuna Canyon south of those homes were encouraged to voluntarily evacuate.
An evacuation center was operating at the Sun Valley Recreation Center, 8133 Vineland Ave.
Burbank Fire Department Battalion Chief John Owings said the slide occurred around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday because of a loaded debris basin above Country Club Drive. ``There were many homes, about 40 to 45 homes, affected by it, a couple homes damaged,'' Owings told KCAL9 ``We performed two physical rescues at approximately 7 o'clock this morning.''
He said residents had sheltered in place, but the mandatory evacuation order was issued by mid-morning Tuesday due to the threat of additional slides. ``Any additional rain is going to push more mud down,'' Owings said.
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.
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