An update on Hurricane Hilary

Hurricane Hilary has reached Southern California, and its effects are being felt across our region. Most of LA County is expected to receive peak rainfall between now and 9pm tonight. This storm is a once-in-a-lifetime event, but LA County has been preparing for several days.

Our LA County departments and agencies, including the Office of Emergency Management, LA County Fire Department, LA County Sheriff’s Department and LA County Public Works have already been working around the clock. Here’s a glance at what’s going on:

• LA County Fire and Sheriff’s Departments are operating a unified command on Catalina Island and have stationed extra personnel on the island as residents shelter in place.
• Our Homeless Initiative teams have gone encampment to encampment with unhoused individuals, making sure no one is staying in dangerous areas like flood control channels.
• The Homeless Initiative, the Sheriff’s Department, and our Parks Department, together with their partners, have opened two shelters and are evaluating the possibility of opening more sites for unhoused individuals.
• LA County Public Health has issued a warning about our beaches: people should stay out of the water for 72 hours.
• LA County Public Library and LA County Parks sites remain closed, but Parks staff will continue to monitor their facilities as well as flood channels to keep residents out of danger.
• Metro has not had to modify service significantly, but Long Beach Transit will suspend all service from 6pm tonight to 6am tomorrow.
• Public Works will be providing up-to-the-minute information about road closures. While we urge you to stay home, if you must leave your house, check road conditions first by clicking here. 

I also signed a declaration of local emergency this morning. That means that we have activated the full extent of emergency powers to protect life and property. Critically, it also means that we are signaling to state and federal agencies that LA County is ready to accept any assistance they can give. Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a State of Emergency for the Southern California areas expected to be impacted by Hilary. He is here on the ground today, and I know we can count on his support.

Visit ready.lacounty.gov to keep up with what’s going on in your area, and call 211 for more information and to request service if you observe hazards on the road and in your neighborhood. I hope you’re staying home and staying safe.