The rains came…and so did the mud. Our house was fine, but the mud damaged homes as close as ¼ of a mile away (of a bird’s flight). We are so close to some of the mud damage that when the helicopters came to do an aerial footage they flew and hovered directly over our home for a good while. They were so close that Haley was trying to yell & wave to the helicopters to get their attention.
Per the LA Times in regards to our town: “43 homes were damaged, of which, 31 had mud or other debris enter the house, while 12 suffered major structural damage. …The mudflow twisted garage doors into dented accordions, disintegrated walls of sandbags, and knocked over 4,000-pound concrete barriers that lined the road to divert water away from homes. About 25 vehicles were damaged, flowing down the street and smashing against walls, trees and one another.”
Per the LA Times in regards to our town: “43 homes were damaged, of which, 31 had mud or other debris enter the house, while 12 suffered major structural damage. …The mudflow twisted garage doors into dented accordions, disintegrated walls of sandbags, and knocked over 4,000-pound concrete barriers that lined the road to divert water away from homes. About 25 vehicles were damaged, flowing down the street and smashing against walls, trees and one another.”
The following pictures and commentary are taken from the LA Times website.
A river of mud flows through La Cañada Flintridge.
A gas company worker digs in front of a flattened home on Manistee Drive, where the flash flood caused a gas leak.
One of many homes damaged by mudslides on Manistee Drive. 
K-rails pushed by force of mudslide litter Ocean View Boulevard in La Cañada Flintridge. About 25 vehicles were damaged when they were struck by the dislodged K-rails.
Cars were damaged by mudslides on Ocean View Boulevard in La Cañada FlintridgeI just want to take a minute to record this into our family journal and share with you (whoever “you” is) of what a great community we live in.
One of the homes that were damaged was that of a family in our ward. They awoke at 5:30 am to discover that mud & debris had engulfed their property. They turned to their fellow LDS church members and sent out a stake email expressing their need of help. Craig went to help immediately after reading the email. Per the member’s thank you email: “With one e-mail to the ward and one e-mail to the stake we had well over 100 people respond with shovels, wheelbarrows, brooms, sump pumps and even heavy equipment to move and haul the mud away. We started early this morning and the last person left after 8:00 p.m.
It is impossible to not get emotional to think of the outpouring of Christ like love and genuine kindness the members have offered us this day. So many of you were an immense help to our neighbors as well. One neighbor approached me and said "I love your Church", another said "I need to change religions" and two neighbors said "I want to come visit your Church". We were also able to give a Book of Mormon to one of the Firemen.”
It is impossible to not get emotional to think of the outpouring of Christ like love and genuine kindness the members have offered us this day. So many of you were an immense help to our neighbors as well. One neighbor approached me and said "I love your Church", another said "I need to change religions" and two neighbors said "I want to come visit your Church". We were also able to give a Book of Mormon to one of the Firemen.”
Craig and several others from our ward AND stake AND surrounding stakes gathered again today to continue to shovel mud in our town.
What a horrendous calamity for some people to endure, but how awesome to know that we are in a community and church that people are there for one another, to serve one another, to share and possibly lighten their burdens. Not only did the LDS church members help their own fellow members who had sent the distress email, but also helped the other neighbors that were in need as well even though the volunteers had never met the neighbors before. Even a member from the bishopric had called us to be sure our home was okay and if it wasn’t, to be sure to let them know so they can get some help to us. How great to know that even though we do not have any family here, we are definitely not alone :)
On a lighter note, a few cute pictures of my kids.
Haley, my little fashion diva, will not allow me to pick out her outfits anymore, hence the colorful rainbow outfit. She always wants to wear something different from what I want her to wear. She is ALWAYS wanting to wear a skirt....not jeans, so I had to get some new skirts & leggings from Target that would be appropriate for school (they get dirty in the sand, playground, & painting). And when I do her hair, she always has to add some bows, or clips, or sparkly head bands to complete her hair-do...and to her, the more bows, clips & sparkly headbands, the better.
And my baby Cole....with food on his shirt.
My kids doing headstands. Cole LOVES being upside down.
My kids doing headstands. Cole LOVES being upside down.
Wow, mud can be powerful. I am glad your house is safe. And I loved the story about people helping others- there are a lot of really good people out there. Good luck with the clean up around your neighborhood. That sounds like a lot of work.
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