Power Fully Restored to Pasadena

At a special meeting on Thursday, Fire Chief Chad Augustin said all power has been fully restored to Pasadena residents, and utility crews are continuing efforts to repair damaged residential service equipment.

However, despite the restoration of power, many residents are still dealing with burned or damaged service equipment. The Pasadena Water and Power Department (PWP) is working around the clock to support these customers, ensuring their systems are restored to full functionality.

As of Thursday, the fire is now 95% contained.

The city has also made significant progress, reducing the “do not drink” water advisory from 36% of its service area down to just 4%.

According to PWP officials crews are actively repairing facilities and monitoring water quality to ensure the safety of the community.

Looking ahead, city leaders are preparing for potential rainstorms this weekend. The National Weather Service has issued warnings for possible thunderstorms, which could bring anywhere from a quarter of an inch to more than an inch of rain, with the heaviest showers expected between Saturday night and Sunday night. There is also a 10-20% chance of thunderstorms, increasing the risk of mud and debris flows, especially in areas impacted by recent fires.

“A quarter of an inch of rain in 15 minutes is all that we need to start having debris coming down the mountainside,” said Fire Chief Chad Augustin. “So it’s really not necessarily the amount of rain, it’s the intensity and the quickness of how fast that rain comes down. If we have a half an inch over a day and a half on and off, I’m going to feel really good.”

The City is giving out a maximum 10 free sandbags to local residents at several locations throughout the City.

According to Greg de Vinck, the city owns 90 K-rails, which are temporary barriers used to protect properties from mudslides. Additionally, Pasadena has a contract in place with a vendor who can provide more K-rails if necessary.

The vendor, who typically relocates K-rails for events like the Rose Bowl, is finalizing a FEMA-compliant contract to ensure quick deployment if a mudslide occurs.

A preliminary debris flow map from Los Angeles County highlights Pasadena’s relatively low risk. The map, which has not yet been made public, indicates that the city is in “barely good shape” in terms of debris flow risk, with no properties falling into the higher or moderate-risk categories.

However, the map shows a high probability of flow along Pasadena Glen, an area in Altadena, which could affect the county’s detention basin.

Crews have already begun clearing the basin to increase its capacity ahead of the anticipated storms.

“Pasadena seems well-positioned for debris flow, which is excellent news,” de Vinck said, reassuring residents that the city is well-prepared. He noted that the debris flow map is still in draft form and expected to be finalized in the coming days.

Despite the positive outlook for debris flow, de Vinck said the city is ready to respond quickly if needed. “We have the cranes and equipment ready to deploy K-rails in case of a significant mudslide event,” he said.

Cleanup efforts are also ongoing in the city, particularly to address debris in public areas.

“By the end of today, we’ll be about one-third done with debris removal from the public right of way,” he said. With more than 50 pieces of heavy equipment and over 100 workers involved, the city is clearing about 4-5% of the debris each day. de Vinck  estimated that it will take another three weeks to fully clear the green waste, with hundreds of truckloads of debris removed daily.

Additionally, some residents have raised concerns about hazardous materials left on properties, particularly with the forecasted rain potentially washing them into neighborhoods. While Dink focused on the cleanup effort in the streets, he acknowledged the ongoing challenge of removing hazardous materials from private properties.

The risk of mudslides could persist for up to two years as soils continue to recover from the fires.