In San Bernardino mountains, residents hit by devastating mudslide fear more to come

For months, Oak Glen, California, resident Meg Grant emailed pleas to local officials: Residents needed help preparing for the next rainstorm.

In December, rainstorms brought mud, tree limbs and debris into their yards, Grant told San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe. Residents knew the risks of living in the mountains, Grant said, but the 2020 fire left them vulnerable to mudflow raging down Birch Creek, which runs through many of their properties.

The dreaded day arrived Sept. 12 when the remains of Tropical Storm Kay brought 2.4 inches of rain within an hour and produced an immense debris flow that damaged or destroyed 16 homes. Car-size boulders came crashing down in Forest Falls, a small mountain community north of Oak Glen. A 62-year-old Forest Falls resident died as the flood of rocks, sticks and mud overtook her home.

The seed of the disastrous mudslide — which overwhelmed a county-run flood channel and buried some areas in 12 feet of mud — was planted two years ago when