By Harry Keller
Science Editor
Is it just me? I moved to Wrightwood, CA, on July 27, 2022. Since then, we’ve experienced a hundred-year blizzard, a wildfire (the Bridge Fire) that moved with astonishing speed and destroyed thirteen structures, and record rainfall that caused unprecedented mudflows, burying parts of the town and eroding others. During this same period, I also lost my wife unexpectedly. This friendly, quiet village did nothing to deserve these disasters. These three calamities over three years share only two things, as far as I know: I moved here, and global warming has hit record levels. It certainly isn’t Wrightwood’s fault. I hope it’s not me! At least, no one has blamed me yet.
The first two events have been covered by local news outlets as major news. Wrightwood is in San Bernardino County, but the Los Angeles news covered all three extensively.
You should see our small hamlet. Concrete traffic barriers line some roads to prevent future “road rivers” from spilling onto property. Large earthen berms line some other properties. The library is surrounded on two sides by them. The berms that crossed some roads, making them impassable, were removed days after the storm. These four-foot-high barriers were created to direct the unprecedented flows in less damaging directions.
Some cars were buried up to their windows in mud, and the same happened to homes. Other homes had virtual rivers flowing through them, and some of these “rivers” were so muddy that they left a foot or more of mud throughout the house. Videos taken by homeowners are shocking, clearly demonstrating the power of nature unleashed.
I can’t say how much of the flow was caused by the wildfire. The hillsides were green when the record rain poured into the town. A single year’s regrowth might not have been enough to hold the dirt or absorb enough of the water. Some dry washes doubled their depths overnight as the powerful floods rushed through them.
Wrightwood is vulnerable to severe flooding because of its topography. The tall mountains above it offer excellent skiing conditions for the nearby Mountain High ski resort, but they also act as a funnel, collecting hundreds of acres of rainfall and channeling it into narrow arroyos that are usually dry but become filled when it rains. Usually, the rain causes little damage. Engineers have made changes to the watercourses to avoid serious problems, but they did not count on the record rainfall on Christmas Eve.
Just half a block uphill from me, my road was impassable as I drove down my steep driveway due to the debris, mostly branches, blocking it. Having planned a Christmas day with my family, 100 miles away, I left midday on December 24 and barely reached Interstate 15, the only route out of the mountains that didn’t require a long detour through the desert or mountains. One spot on the four-lane road to I-15 was being continuously cleared of rocky debris. I had to wait for the plow and follow it across the muddy, rocky, fast-flowing water on the road in pouring rain. Eventually, this section of road was undercut, and about half of it disappeared. It has been restored now, after weeks of repairs.
Curiously, my mapping software would have taken me on Route 2, the Angeles Crest Scenic Highway, which was washed out in multiple locations and reopened to traffic only recently. While not likely, I could have been washed out with it had I taken that route. More likely, I would have had to turn back, but I might have been blocked by another washout behind me. The road is perched on steep hillsides and is very sinuous. It’s also breathtakingly beautiful.
I situated my recently built home to avoid the problems of flood and fire. It was completely undamaged. Even the half-acre upon which it is built was unaffected.
The deep snow that just fell is making things more difficult for everyone. I just finished digging out my 2,000 sq ft driveway. I was finally able to reach the road with my car after three days. Thankfully, the forecast is for warmer weather without rain. We will recover and rebuild. Nature is beautiful but wild.
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