Emergency officials fret over potential evacuations as rain threatens Woolsey fire communities with mudflows

Dozens of victims of the Woolsey fire trickled in to the Conrad H. Hilton Foundation building in Agoura Hills throughout the day Tuesday, many of them seeking help rebuilding lives that have been shattered by the destructive blaze that burned through Los Angeles and Ventura counties over the last two weeks.

“People are coming in shell-shocked,” said Jenni Campbell, a volunteer at the makeshift center housing federal, state and local workers connecting victims with government services.

Campbell, an Agoura Hills resident who recently returned home after the threat of fire forced her to leave, has been volunteering at the center since learning her neighborhood was spared destruction. She said workers at the center were trying to project a sense of calm for people who recently had lost everything.

Still, at least two frustrated fire victims marched out of the center Tuesday.

One wept as she left. A volunteer eventually coaxed her back inside. The two later embraced.

Another victim, who held a small Pomeranian under his arm, angrily told volunteers he was being denied service. Campbell cajoled the man back into the building to get help.

Cindy Shephard, a veteran of many disaster responses with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said many of the victims who came to get help rebuilding their lives were still emotional Tuesday. She said talking to service workers was often the first chance for some to begin processing their grief.

“This is often their first time saying out loud that they’ve lost their home to anyone except for family,” said Shephard, the crew leader for FEMA’s Woolsey fire team.

The pain of displacement and being at the mercy of Mother Nature might not be over just yet for communities scarred by wildfires.

By Tuesday, emergency officials said they were still concerned about neighborhoods in burn areas that may have to be evacuated all over again, depending on Wednesday’s rain forecast.

If enough rain runs off charred hillsides and begins to pool in the region’s canyons, new evacuations could be ordered for residents who may just now be returning to their homes, said Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. A.J. Lester.

While the forecast for rain Wednesday night remains light, the threat of mud and debris flows remains unpredictable in canyon areas where much of the vegetation was burned away.

Fire-scorched patches of ground form a waxy layer on top that prevent the earth from soaking up water naturally, Lester said. That means canyons surrounded by steep hillsides that were burned become even more susceptible to mud flows than they would have under normal conditions.

The National Weather Service on Tuesday slightly downgraded its forecast for rain across Southern California, expecting one-tenth to three-fourths of an inch of rain for most areas by Wednesday afternoon.

“The main act will arrive Wednesday night with a three to five hour period of light to moderate rain moving west to east across the forecast area,” NWS meteorologists wrote. “Outside of any convection, peak rain rates should be well below critical thresholds for debris flows in and around burn areas, generally a quarter inch per hour or less.”

According to the NWS forecast, there was a “small chance” for thunderstorms in the area. Weather officials said south and southwest facing foothills and mountains would see higher rates of rain, but “nothing approaching critical levels,” that would make mud and debris flows likely.

Still, Lester said emergency officials were prepared for the worst.

“We can’t control the weather,” Lester said. “Ready your things and have a plan for your family to leave.”

Free sandbags were available at all L.A. County fire stations for residents to shore up their properties. Lester said large blue tarps would also be made available at Malibu Fire Station 75 to cover backyards to help divert water from properties.

He said firefighters were available to help residents understand how to divert water from their homes — he said sandbags should be placed so that water flows to a natural drainage area, not on to other peoples’ properties.

Linda Northrup, the mayor pro tem of Agoura Hills, said at the assistance center on Tuesday that she hoped residents would be patient and heed evacuation orders, if they came. She said over the last few days, local officials had been besieged with requests for information about the predicted rains.

She said mudslides “are not a foreign concept” to locals here — canyon communities here already face rain-related threats under normal conditions.

Emergency officials said the Woolsey fire was close to fully contained on Tuesday, about 12 days after the blaze first began its destructive march through Bell Canyon, Agoura Hills, Calabasas and Malibu.

On Twitter, L.A. County Fire said containment inched up to 98 percent. The total acerage burned in the fire remained unchanged at 96,949 acres.