FORESTHILL, Calif. — Emergency officials are watching Northern California burn scars closely as heavy rain and thunderstorms hit the Foothills from Tropical Storm Hilary.
The area where the Caldor and Mosquito fire burn scars are was under a flash flood watch Monday, warning people of potential debris flow. The watch was canceled around 8 p.m.
“Whenever you have a burn such as the Mosquito Fire, it changes the chemical structure of the soil and makes it more likely that in a really heavy downpour, which you would find in a thunderstorm, there’s a chance for what’s called the debris flow where essentially it picks up some of that soil and starts to move it downhill,” said Dave Atkinson, Placer County’s Assistant Director Of Emergency Services.
He says the big concern is for folks who travel through the area for things like hiking, camping or fishing.
“Thankfully, we don’t have a lot of residents that are really out in the burn scar or they’re at the top of the rim which is a safer place to be then close on a steep slope or down at the bottom,” said Atkinson.
The Placer County Sheriff's Office is also ready to deploy officers if things get worse.
“If it does go to that, what we’ll do is we’ll start sending deputies out in the field to make sure people out in that area are informed and can get out as soon as they can,” said Lt. Ty Conners.
Officials are encouraging people coming to or going through the area to sign up for Placer Alert to get notified of public safety messages and evacuations if they’re issued. Find more information HERE.
