The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides.
Last week, the first bout of heavy rainfall since the January 2025 wildfires struck Southern California, triggering the much-feared debris flows that were inevitable. The main rainfall occurred on 13 February 2025, with further damage being inflicted on the Pacific Coast Highway.
The most notable event occurred on Big Rock Road in Malibu, where a firefighter was swept off the road in his car by a debris flow. NBC News has posted some good footage of the debris flow and the incident onto Youtube:-
Fortunately, the firefighter survived the ordeal with only minor injuries, and the vehicle has now been recovered. The Malibu Times has a good account of the event.
Elsewhere in Malibu, Duke’s, an iconic beachfront restaurant that survived the Palisades fire, was extensively damaged by a debris flow. ABC7 has a Youtube video that provides an overview of the landslide and the damage:-
Reopening of the restaurant has now been delayed whilst a further clean up is undertaken.
The Google Earth imagery below was captured on 13 January 2025, showing the area that has been burned by the wildfire in Las Flores Canyon, upstream from Duke’s:-
Unfortunately, this area is likely to be vulnerable to further events.
As noted previously, post wildfire debris flows are going to be a major issue in the burned areas in the coming months, bringing a sting in the tail even to areas that narrowly missed being burnt.