Heavy rains bring mandatory evacuations

Mandatory evacuation orders are in place for a number of communities in Los Angeles County as an intense storm system continues to make its way across the Southland.

Periods of rain – some of it heavy – will continue into Thursday night. It’s expected to drop 1 to 3 inches of rain in coastal and valley areas and between 2 and 5 inches in the mountains.

The evacuations zones include Kagel Canyon, Little Tujunga and Lopez Canyon: all three are located in the Creek Fire burn area. That wildfire charred about 15,000 acres in December.

There are also mandatory evacuation orders for a 2 mile stretch of La Tuna Canyon Road, north of Burbank. Those are areas in or around the La Tuna Canyon fire area, which burned back in September.

#LARain Both Mandatory and Voluntary #Evacuations will go into effect tonight at 6PM Please help #LAFD protect you – If you live in an evacuation zone, do not put yourself, your family and first responders at risk by staying @LAPDHQ@LASDHQ@LACoFDPIOpic.twitter.com/za5U1bilKl

— LAFD Talk (@LAFDtalk) March 21, 2018

There are also other voluntary evacuation orders in the La Tuna Canyon Fire burn areas, further north.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has flood advisories for counties to the north and west as well: Santa Barbara and western Ventura counties, as the strong Pacific storm moves through.

Forecasters say rainfall rates have been close to a half-inch an hour and recent wildfire burn areas will likely experience mud and debris flows.

A storm back in early January devastated the town of Montecito causing massive debris flows that killed nearly two dozen people.

The storm has varied in intensity, but forecasters say much more is on the way.