Homes along Scenic Drive in Dana Point last week after a landslide brought tons of rock and soil crashing into the sea. Authorities will be keeping close watch on these properties and other areas battered by recent rains as a new storm rolls into Southern California.
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David McNew
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Getty Images
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Topline:
The latest winter storm to arrive in the region isn't expected to bring the same record-breaking amount of rainfall to Los Angeles as the recent storm, but the lengthy system still poses major risks to the area.
What we know so far: Moderate to heavy rainfall is expected to hit Los Angeles County Monday morning and continue on and off until Wednesday morning.
2 - 5 inches of rain, up to 8 inches in the foothills and mountains
Several feet of snow possible above 7,500 ft
High surf and coastal flooding possible
About 20% chance of thunderstorms in most areas
This story is no longer being updated. Get LAist's latest information about the storm:
The latest winter storm to arrive in the region isn't expected to bring the same record-breaking amount of rainfall to Los Angeles as the atmospheric river earlier this month, but the lengthy system still poses major risks to the area.
"Los Angeles County may not be as favored as far as the overall rain totals and rain intensities," said David Gomberg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "However, we are still very concerned about the impacts there in terms of flooding and mudslides — just because of the antecedent conditions present with the heavy rains last week in L.A. County."
This latest storm, with moderate to heavy rain predicted on and off until Wednesday, lands on the heels of back-to-back atmospheric rivers that caused widespread damage to the Los Angeles region, including numerous landslides. Most of L.A. County is currently under a flood watch.
The mountains and foothills of western Ventura County are expected to receive the most rainfall, as well as areas northward including Santa Barbara County. Gomberg said up to 8 inches of rain could fall in those places, and rain rates there could reach up to 1 inch an hour.
The rest of the region, including Los Angeles, could see up to 5 inches of rain at a much lower intensity — except for the Santa Monica Mountains and the Hollywood Hills. "They could be pushing upwards of an inch per hour," Gomberg said.
Gomberg also warned of coastal flooding, particularly in Santa Barbara and Malibu on Tuesday morning.
Mayor Karen Bass has announced a number of measures to prepare for this storm, including extending the operating hours of 311 on Sunday and Monday until 10 p.m.
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Courtesy National Weather Service
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Flash Flood Warnings
A flash flood warning has been issued through 6 p.m. Monday for an area of far Western L.A. County that has more than 800,000 residents.
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Courtesy NWS
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Flash flood warnings overnight were extended until 10:30 a.m. Monday for parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
Ventura County
A flash flood warning is in place in this area until 10:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 19. About 190,000 people live in the affected area, according to the National Weather Service.
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Courtesy NWS
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Santa Barbara County
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Courtesy NWS
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A flash flood warning is in place in this area until 10:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 19. About 232,000 people live in the affected area, according to the National Weather Service.
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Courtesy NWS
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Evacuations and closures
Santa Barbara County
Evacuation warnings have been issued for these areas. Find out more here.
Properties along waterways associated with the Alisal burn areas. Evacuation warnings were lifted Monday afternoon for the Thomas and Cave burn areas.
Properties in the vicinity of Sycamore Creek, from Stanwood Drive down to parts of Ninos Drive, in the city of Santa Barbara.
Properties in the vicinity of Mission Creek, from Cota Street down to Highway 101 and between Chapala Street and Castillo Street, in the city of Santa Barbara.
These areas around recent burn scars could experience moderate mudflow and debris deposition. Find out more here.
City of Duarte
The natural canyons including Melcanyon Road and Deerlane Drive.
La Tuna Canyon
Within McDonald Canyon, Del Arroyo Drive, and La Tuna Canyon Road.
Agua Dulce
Soledad Canyon Road, and the burned hillsides below.
Topanga Canyon
Santa Maria Road, and the burned hillsides below.
Forecast
The heaviest rain is expected in Ventura County and northward, but the storm still brings threats of flooding, landslides and mudslides to Greater Los Angeles.
2 to 5 inches of rain, with up to 8 inches in the foothills and mountains
Several feet of snow possible above 7,500 ft
High surf and coastal flooding possible
About 20% chance of thunderstorms in most areas
What you should be on the lookout for
Residents in mountain, canyon and coastal areas should prepare for debris flows and flooding over the next week.
Those in landslide prone areas like the Palos Verdes Peninsula should be on the lookout for indications of land movement, including the formation of new cracks, the fracturing of underground utilities, doors and windows falling out of plumb and sounds of creaks and groans coming from the ground.
Los Angeles County Fire Department locations also have sandbags and sand.
Sand and sandbags are available at these locations in Orange County.
Understanding National Weather Service warnings
Here’s an excerpt from our guide to understanding flood warnings, if any are issued:
Flood advisories are how the NWS begins to raise the alarm. The goal is to give people enough time to take action.
Flood watches are your indicators to get prepared to move.
Aflood warning is issued when a hazardous weather event is imminent or already happening. When one is issued for your area, you need to get to higher ground immediately.
A flash flood warning is issued when a flash flood is coming or in progress. Flash floods are sudden and violent floods that can start within minutes.
If you're in L.A. County and need sand bags you can find some at local fire houses.
Staying safe when the winds are high
Watch for traffic signals that may be out. Approach those intersections as four-way stops.
Make sure you have a battery-operated radio and flashlights. Check the batteries to make sure they are fresh. Use flashlights for lighting during a power outage; do not use candles because they may pose a significant fire hazard.
If you’re in a vehicle with a fallen power line on it, stay in the vehicle and remain calm until help arrives. It is OK to use your cellphone to call 911. If you must leave the vehicle, remember to exit away from downed power lines and exit by jumping from the vehicle and landing with both feet together. You must not touch the vehicle and the ground at the same time. Then proceed away from the vehicle by shuffling and not picking up your feet until you are several yards away.
Water and electricity don’t mix. Water is an excellent conductor of electricity. Do not step in or enter any water that a downed power line may be touching.
Do not use any equipment inside that is designed for outdoor heating or cooking. Such equipment can emit carbon monoxide and other toxic gases.
If you use a generator, place it outdoors and plug individual appliances directly into it, using a heavy-duty extension cord. Connecting generators directly to household circuits creates “backfeed,” which is dangerous to repair crews.
Leave the doors of your refrigerator and freezer closed to keep food as fresh as possible. Place blocks of ice inside to help keep food cold. Check food carefully for signs of spoilage.
Check on your neighbors to make sure everyone is safe.
Tips on staying warm
State law requires residential units to have heating systems that can keep indoor temperatures at a minimum of 70 degrees. That means every dwelling unit and guest room offered for rent or lease should offer heating equipment, usually central air conditioning (A/C) or a wall heater. — Caitlin Hernández
Use heat smartly to save money: Cranking things like the A/C and wall heaters can be expensive. If money is tight, be judicious about how and when you use your utilities. For example, only use heaters at night or only set the thermostat to around 70 degrees.
Open and close those vents: If you have central A/C, look at where the vents are around your home. Are any open in places where you don’t stay long? Practice opening and closing those so warm air only goes where you need it (most vents should have a small toggle lever). Humidifiers can also help you warm things up — and it’s useful to add moisture into our dry air.
Adjust your wall heaters: If you have a wall heater, you can change the output by adjusting the knob (usually at the bottom). Since wall heaters can only warm the areas where they’re placed, it’s essential to close doors to rooms you won’t be in so hot air doesn’t get wasted.
Turn on your ceiling fan (really): If you have a ceiling fan, try turning it on. This sounds counterintuitive, but there’s science behind it. The direction a fan turns can push air in different directions, and since hot air floats up, you’ll want to move that around. Your fan should spin clockwise to create an updraft to circulate. Not all fans will have this option, though.
This is a developing story. We fact check everything and rely only on information from credible sources (think fire, police, government officials and reporters on the ground). Sometimes, however, we make mistakes and/or initial reports turn out to be wrong. In all cases, we strive to bring you the most accurate information in real time and will update this story as new information becomes available.
Yusra Farzan
is covering general assignment news this week.
Published September 11, 2026 4:25 PM
Schools are reeling from extreme heat.
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Frederic J. Brown
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AFP
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Topline:
That ocean breeze is just not cutting it in schools in Torrance and Long Beach as Southern California reels from a heat wave. Parents have taken to social media, created petitions and are proposing a bond measure in order to address the sweltering classrooms as temperatures hit triple digits in some areas.
Why it matters: Only 25% of Torrance classrooms have air conditioning. And while 90% of Long Beach schools have air conditioning, the ones without units have to bear the heat until the end of 2027, when new AC systems will be in all classrooms.
Getting ACs is not an easy feat: School districts like Torrance pay for facility upgrades like new ACs through district issued bond measures. A school district takes a loan and the people in that city pay back that loan through an increase in their property taxes. That is because there is no specific state allocation of funding for major upgrades or construction. Most of the money schools get from the state is spent on instruction and other student services. There have been some occasional grant programs, like CalShape, but no ongoing sources of funding.
This week, a petition to get TUSD to place a bond measure on the ballot to fund ACs has garnered over 1500 signatures.
But, a spokesperson for the district said third-party polling showed there wasn't enough support to warrant putting the bond measure on the November ballot.
That ocean breeze is just not cutting it in schools in Torrance and Long Beach as Southern California reels from a heat wave.
Parents have taken to social media, created petitions and are proposing a bond measure in order to address the sweltering classrooms as temperatures hit triple digits in some areas.
Only 25% of Torrance Unified classrooms have air conditioning, according to a district spokesperson. And while 90% of Long Beach Unified schools have air conditioning, the schools without air conditioning have to bear this heat spell until the end of 2027 when new air conditioning will be in all classrooms.
What are schools doing to beat the heat?
In Long Beach, the district says there are portable fans in classrooms without AC and the district has installed heat-blocking window covers.
"The things that we do immediately and have been doing for several years, hydration stations,” Keith Butler, the deputy superintendent at TUSD, told the school board early this week. “So our nutrition services freezes blocks of ice, puts them into containers with water, and students are — and staff are able to rotate through and at least get ice water.”
There is also a classroom rotation system so everyone gets a turn in cooling zones, he said.
Can schools close on extreme heat days?
Eric Mitchell, a spokesperson for LBUSD, told LAist, “The District will not close schools because of extreme weather unless the City of Long Beach Public Health Department or a state-authorized emergency response agency directs it.”
Baillie echoed his words adding that a state-declared emergency allows schools to close temporarily without needing to make up teaching time. School funding is dependent on attendance and instructional time.
If a local emergency is declared, school districts, she said, must consult with labor unions to adjust the school schedule to either extend the school year or move to a student-free professional development day.
“Our district is actively discussing creating union-approved ‘weather days’ that would provide a mechanism to adjust the schedule,” Baillie said. “Thresholds would be part of that discussion and might focus on when national weather alerts elevate a heat advisory to an extreme heat event, as they did this week.”
So how can Torrance get ACs in the classroom?
School districts like Torrance pay for facility upgrades like new ACs through district issued bond measures. A school district takes a loan and the people in that city pay back that loan through an increase in their property taxes. That is because there is no specific state allocation of funding for major upgrades or construction. Most of the money schools get from the state is spent on instruction and other student services. There have been some occasional grant programs, like CalShape, but no ongoing source of funding.
This week, a petition to get TUSD to place a bond measure on the ballot to fund ACs has already garnered over 1500 signatures.
But, Baillie said, “Third-party polling completed earlier this year showed a willingness to vote for additional future bonds; however, when specifically asked about the costs of specific bonds to fund the $520 million needed to upgrade the electrical systems and install AC at all 34 campuses, polling showed there would not be enough support (bonds require 55% +1 of voters in an election) to pass a bond for AC.”
And so the bond measure was not placed on the upcoming ballot.
Butler, the deputy superintendent, explained during this week’s school board meeting that parents cannot simply donate an AC unit.
“ One [reason] is it's not super effective to have a typical window unit from a home that would be trying to cool a 960 sq. ft. classroom with 27 students and a teacher, maybe an instructional aide,” he said. “But the bigger issue is the ones that are large enough to really do that, the room has to have a large electrical load, and our electrical system within our buildings where most of them were built in the 1960s, it's just not meant to handle what it does.”
LAist reporter Mariana Dale contributed to this article.
Jill Replogle
covers public corruption, debates over our voting system, culture war battles — and more.
Published September 11, 2026 4:22 PM
Students at Ensign Intermediate School have been parking their e-bikes in nearby neighborhoods since the district outlawed them on elementary and middle school campuses.
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Jill Replogle
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LAist
)
Topline:
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is hosting a buyback event Sunday where people can exchange their e-bikes and e-motorcycles for up to $1,000 in gift cards.
Why? The goal is to reduce the number of illegal bikes on the road, and give parents an incentive to get dangerous vehicles out of kids’ hands.
Read on ... for more about the buy back program.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is hosting a buyback event Sunday where people can exchange their e-bikes and e-motorcycles for up to $1,000 in gift cards. The goal is to reduce the number of illegal bikes on the road, and give parents an incentive to get dangerous vehicles out of kids’ hands.
“These vehicles are not child’s play, and the consequences are incredibly dangerous and increasingly deadly,” DA Todd Spitzer said in a news release announcing the event.
Communities in Orange County have been grappling with a surge in e-bikes and e-motos on the road, including among young kids, and an accompanying increase in serious crashes.
“Our area has pretty much the highest concentration of e-bike injuries and e-bike accidents in the country,” said Dr. Tetsuya Takeuchi, the trauma medical director at Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo.
Takeuchi said just over 70% of the children treated at the hospital for e-bike injuries had some level of head injury, “from a simple concussion to devastating brain damage, brain bleed and skull fracture."
A lot of those injuries are among teenagers not wearing helmets, he said. Plus, many e-bikes on the market are too heavy and fast for children to control, Takeuchi said.
Besides safety concerns, tensions have flared with other drivers, pedestrians, and neighbors in areas with heavy concentrations of e-bikes.
Newport-Mesa Unified School District became one of the first districts in the country this year to restrict e-bikes to high school campuses only. District leaders say the policy is working to disincentivize young students from riding e-bikes to school. But at one middle school, students with e-bikes have opted to ride them anyway, parking in the surrounding neighborhood and raising the ire of homeowners.
The DA’s approach
The DA’s office has started to target parents who allow their children to ride e-bikes and e-motorcycles that have been illegally modified for high speeds, sometimes with deadly consequences. In April, the district attorney filed child endangerment charges against a mother from Aliso Viejo after her 14-year-old son struck and killed an 81-year-old man while doing wheelies in the street in Lake Forest. The boy was riding an e-motorcycle souped up to reach 60 mph.
What do California laws say about e-bikes and e-motorcycles?
First off, all e-bikes must have pedals. California has adopted a three-tier classification system for e-bikes:
Type of E-Bike
Pedal Assist
Speed
Age and Helmet Requirements
Class 1
Yes
Up to 20 mph, no throttle
No age limit. Helmet required for 17 and under.
Class 2
No (throttle or push button)
Up to 20 mph
No age limit. Helmet required for 17 and under.
Class 3
Yes
Up to 28 mph
Must be 16 or older. Helmet required for all ages.
E-motorcycles are designed primarily for off-highway use and require a driver’s license.
For more information, check out Go Safely California, a joint effort of CalTrans and the state Office of Traffic Safety.
Details of the buyback program
The e-bike and e-motorcycle buyback program is part of the DA’s plan to address safety concerns with e-bikes. Local police departments, hospitals and the California Office of Traffic Safety will also be onsite with information booths.
People can bring in functioning or non-functioning e-bikes, e-motorcycles, e-scooters and pocket bikes and exchange them for gift cards worth up to $1,000 — while supplies last.
The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 13, at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.
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Appeals court lets order for 2,550 new homes stand
David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, a place where the lack of affordable housing contributes to homelessness.
Published September 11, 2026 3:22 PM
Members of a clean-up crew dismantle tents located on the Veterans Row homeless encampment along San Vicente Blvd just outside the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus.
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Al Seib
/
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
)
Topline:
An appeals court issued a ruling Friday that strikes down a federal government effort to block a lower court’s order requiring the construction of 2,550 new housing units on the Veterans Affairs campus in West Los Angeles.
The backstory: The long-running case, brought forward by disabled veterans struggling with homelessness in the L.A. area, has centered on the use of the sprawling 400-acre VA campus. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter had previously scrutinized leases for the private Brentwood School, a parking lot company, an oil drilling enterprise and UCLA’s baseball stadium. Ruling that the campus was meant to aid veterans, Carter ordered the VA to not renew the leases and quickly build 750 units of temporary housing and 1,800 units of permanent housing.
What’s new: Carter’s September 2024 order has been on hold ever since the defendants asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to review his decision. On Friday, more than two-thirds of the court’s 29 judges ruled against the VA’s petition for a rehearing. That means Carter’s order will stand, at least for now. The VA could attempt to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. A spokesperson for the VA declined to comment on the ruling, saying the department does not discuss pending litigation.
Read on… for reaction to the ruling from veteran advocates and lawyers.
An appeals court issued a ruling Friday that strikes down a federal government effort to block a lower court’s order requiring the construction of 2,550 new housing units on the Veterans Affairs campus in West Los Angeles.
The long-running case, brought forward by disabled veterans struggling with homelessness in the L.A. area, has centered on the use of the sprawling 400-acre VA campus.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter had previously scrutinized leases for the private Brentwood School’s athletic facilities, a parking lot company, an oil drilling enterprise and UCLA’s baseball stadium.
Ruling that the campus was meant to aid veterans, Carter ordered the VA to not renew the leases and quickly build 750 units of temporary housing and 1,800 units of permanent housing.
But Carter’s September 2024 order has been on hold ever since the defendants asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to review his decision.
Case returns to lower court
On Friday, more than two-thirds of the court’s 29 judges ruled against the VA’s petition for a rehearing.
“It's a historic day for veterans,” said Mark Rosenbaum, an attorney with Public Counsel representing the plaintiffs.
“The government has been fighting their veterans, who went to fight on behalf of the nation,” he added. “They've been fighting them like they are the enemy. They went to the district court to fight. They lost.”
Rosenbaum said he’s pleased to see the case return to Carter’s courtroom after a long appeals process. Carter, himself a Marine Corps veteran who served in the Vietnam War, took an active role in pushing the VA to address a homelessness crisis that has thousands of former service members experiencing homelessness on any given night in L.A. County.
Could the VA pursue further appeals?
Carter has also ordered the VA to stop using veterans' disability payment benefits as a reason to make them ineligible for supportive housing programs due to income restrictions.
But Rob Reynolds, an Iraq War veteran who advocates for L.A.’s veteran community, said the federal government’s attempts to win an appeal could continue.
“The government can still appeal this to the U.S. Supreme Court,” Reynolds said.
When veterans involved in the case first heard today’s news on the 9th Circuit ruling, he said they immediately asked about the potential for further appeals.
“All of us are really hoping that the government stops this fight, and that we can get housing built for our veterans and end this madness once and for all,” Reynolds said.
A spokesperson for the VA declined to comment on the ruling, saying the department does not discuss pending litigation.
Gillian Morán Pérez
is an associate producer for LAist’s early All Things Considered show.
Published September 11, 2026 3:21 PM
Jenny Yang kicked off her Good Egg immigrant grocery store tour in June in L.A. and is finally back after touring across the country.
(
Torre Catalano
)
Topline:
L.A. Comedian Jenny Yang has been traveling across the country turning immigrant grocery stores into comedy hubs. Now she’s back in L.A getting ready to start a mini-residency in Highland Park, tape her first one-hour special and share moments from the tour.
The backstory: Yang kicked off her Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Standup Comedy Tour in June in L.A., then continued it across 15 cities in the country. She tells LAist that the decision came as a way to cope with the grief from her dad’s death, 10 failed IVF treatments between 2020 and 2025 and seeing the news of ICE raids spread across the country.
The context: She said the idea to tour grocery stores was a way to reclaim those spaces, after immigration enforcement left many afraid to go out and do simple tasks like buying groceries.
Why now? Now she’s back in L.A. and doing a mini-residency at the Outside In Theater in Highland Park for the next three Saturdays in September. Her first show is tomorrow.
What's next: Next February, Yang will be taping her first one-hour special, at Rancho Meat Market #1 in Lincoln Heights. She describes it as a love letter to Los Angeles that’s endured so much, from the ICE raids to the January fires.
Jenny Yang, a comedian from L.A., has been traveling across the country turning immigrant grocery stores into comedy hubs. Now she’s back in L.A. getting ready to start a mini-residency in Highland Park, tape her first one-hour special and share moments from the tour.
Yang kicked off her Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Standup Comedy Tour in June in L.A., then took it to 15 cities across the country. She told LAist the decision came as a way to cope with the grief from her dad’s death, 10 failed in vitro fertilization treatments between 2020 and 2025 and seeing the news of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids spread across the country.
She said the idea to tour grocery stores was a way to reclaim those spaces, after immigration enforcement left many afraid to go out and do simple tasks like buying groceries.
“If we cannot laugh in front of a wall of instant ramen around our bok choy," Yang said, "then what is the American dream for?"
Her routine wove in stories about her fertility struggles and the challenges of having to be a “good egg” growing up as the child of immigrant parents from Taiwan. Her hope for the tour was to connect with people, to make jokes and help people feel lighter after.
The tour proceeds went to local nonprofits serving immigrant communities, and Yang said those organizations helped recruit the grocery stores. She said some stores said no at first — they felt overwhelmed by ICE activity in their city, had lost staff or worried about drawing attention.
“That's part of the story of the tour is it's one thing to want to imagine this beautiful world where you can tell jokes inside of immigrant grocery stores," Yang said. "It's another thing to know what those obstacles are, and I think that's still very telling for where we are as a country.”
One moment stood out to Yang: performing at Shuang Hur Supermarket in Minneapolis. It’s near the memorial for Alex Pretti, the nurse that a U.S. Border Patrol agent shot and killed in January as federal agents carried out immigration enforcement in the city.
“I was able to talk to Henry, the owner who’s a Chinese American uncle. [He] was so proud of being able to help his regular patrons, who for the most part even though it was an Asian centered grocery store, were majority Latino,” Yang said. “I was able to bear witness to their resilience as a community, what they did to take care of each other.”
Now she’s back in L.A. and is doing a mini-residency at the Outside In Theater at 5317 York Blvd. in Highland Park. Her first show is 6 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 12, followed by shows on Sept. 19 and 26 at the same time. Tickets are pay-what-you-can, and you can find them at Outside In's website.
In February 2027, Yang will be taping her first one-hour special at Rancho Meat Market #1 in Lincoln Heights. She describes it as a love letter to Los Angeles that’s endured so much, from the ICE raids to the January fires.
