The rains earlier this week have created some substantial mud and debris flows into and around Wilderness Park. As expected, no damage was done to the residential area above the park, but the burn areas definitely released topsoil, trees, rocks, and other debris that have created mud flows that are estimated at 10 feet high in some areas. The park is fully inaccessible at this time, since water and mud are flowing over the roadway into the parking lot. We don’t believe there is any substantial damage to any structures in the park, but the mud will create very costly repair costs.
We are closing Wilderness Park for the entire Winter at this point and will re-open once it’s safe and recovery has been completed. We won’t be able to even begin repairs in earnest until the mud dries out some and the major rains have passed, which likely means later in the Spring. In speaking with City of Monrovia officials, they estimate as much as $30-50 million worth of damage in their park adjacent to the burn area. We are looking into ways of working together to obtain funding and/or assistance from the County, State, or Federal Governments to assist in these recovery efforts. We have no way of estimating our recovery costs at this time, but I doubt highly it would be anywhere near that magnitude in Arcadia. What I can tell you is that this will likely be a larger and more difficult recovery than the fire itself. In the meantime, we can be happy that the Debris basin did its job in collecting the mud and keeping the Highland Oaks Neighborhood safe.
We also had a large tree fall on Santa Anita Ave along the County Golf Course due to the rains. This damage was repaired quickly without injuries or further incidents.