House with one side torn out and gutted by a catastrophic flood and mudslide, La Crescenta-Montrose, 1934

Description

Text from negative sleeve: Floods, Montrose & La Crescenta, Access to this collection is generously supported by Arcadia funds., Four men look at a house with one side torn out and gutted by a catastrophic flood and mudslide. Two wooden beams support one corner of the house. A dry runoff channel with steep sides is next to the house and the adjacent ground is strewn with boulders left by the flood., In November 1933, wildfires raged through the San Gabriel Mountains above the Crescenta Valley. In late December, a series of storms dropped 12 inches of rain. On New Year's Eve, heavy rains led to sporadic flooding. Around midnight, mountain hillsides collapsed sending millions of tons of mud into the Crescenta Valley neighborhoods below. More than 400 homes were destroyed in La Cañada, La Crescenta, Montrose and Tujunga. Scores of people were killed, and hundreds were left homeless.