UPDATE, OCT. 31, 6:257 P.M.: The American Red Cross announced it will open an evacuation center for Silverado Canyon residents at 7 tonight at Santiago Community College, 8045 E. Chapman Ave., Orange.
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Silverado Brush Fire Up to 1500 Acres, Evac in Place But No Structural Damage Thus Far
ORIGINAL POST, OCT. 31, 2:57 P.M.: Silverado Canyon residents are being advised to evacuate their homes in advance of heavy rains overnight that could cause flash flooding and debris flows over the scar left by September's 1,o00 acre brush fire, according to Orange County fire authorities.
The recommendation from the Orange County Fire Authority comes in the wake of this from the National Weather Service (NWS): “A storm system moving through Southern California will bring a period of moderate to heavy rains between 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. Saturday. Rain rates during this time may be high enough to produce flash flooding and debris flows over and near the Silverado burn scar.”
The evacuation advisory applies to about 200 homes east of 30311 Silverado Canyon Road. Only residents will be allowed in the area after 9 p.m., according to the sheriff's department.
The fire that started in a nearby residential backyard around 10:30 a.m. Sept. 12 burned 100 acres of land that day, grew overnight and ended up scarring 1,000 acres. No structures were damaged, but the power went out, some residents were forced to evacuate and a few firefighters suffered smoke inhalation problems.
Most of the flash flood debris is expected to wash over Silverado Canyon Road, according to the NWS advisory.
A flash flood watch for the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills begins at 11 tonight and continues through Saturday morning. Some time Saturday the rain is expected to change to scattered showers through Saturday night.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.