Heavy rainfall prompted mud flows below a wildfire burn area in Duarte, causing an elementary school to shut down Friday and leaving a mess.
Mud broke through K-rail that had been in place for months along Melcanyon Road, scattering trash cans that were out for trash day. Homes did not initially appear to be damaged.
Several inches of mud were left in the roadway, but residents said they had been adequately warned by the city.
“We woke up this morning to a mud bath,” one resident said. “We knew it was going to happen eventually, but thanks God the city and county did their job and prevented our homes from being destroyed.”
Valley View Elementary School, at 237 Melcanyon Rd., was not in session because access to the campus was closed, the superintendent of Duarte schools tweeted.
“Stuck in the mud,” Superintendent Allan Mucerino said.
Residents worked to clean up after the rain stopped in the late morning. Crews were using front-loaders to get the mud off the roadway.
Authorities from the city of Duarte said about 27 homes were affected by the mudflows; clean-up will continue over the weekend.
Two fires burned some 5,400 acres above Duarte and Azusa in June, leaving the foothill areas vulnerable to mud slides.
A flash flood watch was in effect through noon Friday for recent burn areas in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Debris flow was also a possibility in the area of the Blue Cut and Pilot fires in San Bernardino County.