No more fire, the water next time.

Weekend rains threaten to trigger dangerous mudslides in hillside communities leveled by Southern California wildfires in the last two weeks.

The National Weather Service forecasts up to 1.5 inches of rain starting as early as Saturday morning. The precipitation could help firefighters combat new blazes across Southern California—but even a small amount of rain could cause mud and debris to course down steep slopes laid bare by the Eaton and Palisades fires. 

And 1.5 inches is not a small amount of rain.

California’s normal rainy season continues through March, with February the wettest month of the year. Now, dry and burned soil stripped of its native chaparral and grasses forms a glasslike layer, allowing rainwater that would normally be absorbed to cascade downhill. 

…

Heavy rains following a massive wildfire triggered a deadly mudslide in Montecito, Calif. in 2018.

After fire swept through the Santa Ynez mountains above the coastal town, located about 80 miles west of Los Angeles, nearly 4 inches of rain fell in two days. The deluge washed down barren slopes and sent house-sized boulders and debris through neighborhoods, killing 23 people and destroying 63 homes.

The terrain in Altadena is similar to Montecito. 

And now Trump is taking an axe to the federal government so there won’t be any help from that direction.