Once the decision is made to close the road around the Sepulveda Basin, a number of considerations are made, including, shutting off electricity for street lighting, moving persons and cars out of recreational area. To re-open the roads, a number of gov't entities must then confer.
A big consideration will be upcoming weather conditions. Authorities don't want to re-open the roads too soon, if more rain is anticipated and would result in a near immediate closer. The reason for this is the large process that must be undertaken to reopen the roads: Street services must drive the roads with police to determine debris would create a hazard, then the roads must be swept. The US Army Corps of Engineers have input on the status and water level at the dam. Street lighting must re-energize the lights. LAFD provides weather forecasts to determine how soon more rain might hit, and how much.
The several days of rain this week, which is so unusual for our area, created the rare circumstances for the decision to close the roads and prevent for the need to have to rescue stranded motorists. An occasional hour or two of rain would not necessarily create a problem but when rain is forecast and expected for days, as it was this week, there is little option if safety is the primary concern.
The inconvenience of being stranded in a car in running water, or worse, drowning, is certainly worth avoiding and, in return, accepting the inconvenience of the road closures.
The Sepulveda Basin was built in 1941 from the aftermath of the historic 1938 flood that killed 144 people. Typically, the basin is used as a recreational area for golf, biking, hiking, cricket, and more for 360 days out of the year, or more. The few days the area might be restricted are a trade off for safety, but in those days, the basin is working as designed, to catch water in the SFV and regulate the down river flow.
Prepared by
Capt. Paul Vernon
West Valley Police Station
