Topline:
Fans came out earlier this week to see the Mexican crossover musical sensation and show off their fantastic 'fits.
Why it matters: The music of Peso Pluma marks a massive shift in crossover appeal for listeners of regional Mexican music in the United States.
Why now: The singer sold out two nights at YouTube Theater on Wednesday and Thursday.
What about the 'fits? This being L.A., fans did not disappoint. Read the full story to check out the photos.
Peso Pluma, the musical artist from Jalisco, Mexico, has made significant waves in the genre of music known as Corridos Tumbados. The genre is an updated sound of traditional Mexican corridos and rancheras that sprinkles in references to contemporary youth culture.
The singer's rise in popularity in the U.S. has been meteoric, connecting with a new generation of crossover listeners. His new album, Génesis, debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
The music of Peso Pluma cuts across genres, generations, and cultures, and Los Angeles makes for the perfect backdrop for this unique style of music. We spoke to a few die-hard fans to tell us more about why they came out to support at his two-night sold-out stop at YouTube Theater in Inglewood on Wednesday and Thursday.
Originally from East L.A., now Lives in Long Beach
What brings you here today?
Peso Pluma!
Do you listen to a lot of music in Spanish?
Yes, I listen to a lot of Reggaeton.
Did you grow up listening to Mexican Regional Music? Where?
Yes, for generations. It was always around me. On car rides, everywhere in East L.A.
What does it mean for you to see this genre become mainstream, especially here in the U.S.?
I’m liking it. Artists like Peso Pluma are putting it on the map. I have tías and tíos, older generations, asking me about it.
Santa Clarita. Parents from El Salvador and Guatemala.
What brings you here today?
It’s my birthday. I bought it for myself.
Do you listen to a lot of music in Spanish?
I haven’t before. It’s been since last year. I wasn’t really on it but, you know, Peso Pluma brought me to the corridos and all that.
What were you listening to before? What else do you listen to?
Bad Bunny and rap, that’s it. J. Balvin.
What do you think of the fact that he’s blowing up?
It’s good to see. Mexico is close to California; we got all the Mexicans over here, so, you know, I like to see him represent the Latino community. Us too.
Ontario, California
What brings you here today?
I came to see Peso Pluma. I like him.
Do you listen to a lot of music in Spanish? Did your family listen to music in Spanish?
Yes. I always say that in my home there was la Virgen de Guadalupe and El Corrido de Camelia la Tejana. We are hardworking people and we are able to live vicariously through this music and its stories of other people’s lives.
Did you grow up listening to Mexican Regional Music? Where?
Yes, in Guadalajara, Mexico. I grew up listening to corridos. I think this is like the contemporary version of Los Tigres del Norte and Ramon Ayala. I’m happy because I like this music and now my son likes it, too. It’s brought us closer.
What does it mean for you to see this genre become mainstream, especially here in the U.S.?
I love it! It’s refreshing to give these young people importance. I have young people in my life, and I like to see them singing and enjoying the music. It’s great.
Karely hails from Veracruz, Mexico; Edwin from Lima, Peru
What brings you here today?
Karely: Peso Pluma! Yes!
Edwin: Doble P.
What other kind of music do you listen to?
Edwin: I really listen to everything: salsa, corrido, banda.
Does your family in Peru listen to this music?
Edwin: No, they don’t listen to this there.
Does this music get played in Veracruz?
Karely: Yes, Reggaeton is more popular, but they do play this.
What does it mean for you to see this genre become mainstream, especially here in the U.S?
Karely: I think we are in different times now. The times have changed, and the music has, too. This has come to revolutionize everyone because no one ever thought that these corridos tumbados were going to be this big.
L.A.
What brings you here today?
Peso Pluma. I have been listening to him since this year.
What do you think of the fact that he’s blowing up and artists like him are blowing up so big in this country?
I think it means a lot, especially for the Mexican community. Especially for this kind of music to be blowing up by competing with Reggaetoneros and rap songs. It means a lot to the community.
Have you always listened to this kind of music?
Yeah, I have.
Your family too?
Yeah, we’re from Sinaloa so we’re big fans.
Compton (Nayra was "born and raised")
What brings you here today?
Raul: Big fans of Peso Pluma since he started. What has it been? A year ago? Something like that.
Nayra: And he’s from Jalisco.
Do you listen to a lot of Regional Music?
Raul: Yeah, all the time, all the time!
What else do you listen to?
Raul and Nayra: Rap, Hip Hop.
Did your family listen to music in Spanish?
Nayra: Yeah. Only rancheras.
What do you think of him and other artists like him being this big in the country?
In the industry, globally, he makes us proud. He makes the Hispanic family proud.
Anaheim
What brings you here today?
Out here with my brother to see Peso Pluma.
Have you always listened to this kind of music? Regional, rancheras?
I’m originally from Mexico City. I’ve been listening to reggaeton for a long time but this, of course, is a new trend. It’s catchy. I’m Mexican. He represents our country. Why not!
Do you listen to a lot of music in Spanish?
I’ve been listening to Spanish music ever since I was growing up. Him, pretty much as soon as (I’m not gonna lie) the first track that hit on the radio.
What do you think of the fact that he’s blowing up like this?
If it’s his time to shine, he’s going to shine. And he’s doing an amazing job. That’s what he’s doing, he’s putting in work. I’m from Anaheim and I know he records in Anaheim, really close to where my parents live.
Mid-City, Los Angeles
What brings you here today?
Peso Pluma, big fan. Belicones!
How long have you listened to him?
Barely, maybe six months.
Did you listen to this kind of music before?
Yes. Chalino Sanchez. I grew up with this.
Your family, the kids, they’re listening to it, too?
I have a 9 year old and I try to put the clean version on, but yeah, you can’t control it. It’s everywhere. You go to restaurants and it’s there. Everywhere you go the music is there, so I can’t cover my daughter’s ears.
Grew up in Wilmington. Lives in San Pedro
What brings you here today?
Peso Pluma, I got into him this year, my brother got me into him. He’s a really big fan of this style of music. Gotta support the culture.
Have you always listened to regional, rancheras?
Our family, yeah. Corridos, Antonio Aguilar.
What else do you listen to?
I listen to everything. Actually my primary stuff I listen to is heavy metal. I like reggae, reggaeton, I’m just expanding my music. My brother really got me into him [Peso Pluma]. I said, "Ok, let’s go see him."
What do you think of the fact that it’s blowing up so fast?
I think it’s good. It shows the rest of the world that Mexicanos got talent to be on the platforms that other artists are as well. That they can carry that flag and sell out major stadiums two nights in a row. That tells you something, and I hope it opens up the way for other Mexican, other Latino artists as well, and see that “Hey man, we can do it, too."
South Bay area, Lawndale, born and raised our whole lives.
What brings you here today?
Tony: Peso Pluma. Big fans for a long time. Our family, our kids, everyone.
Do you always listen to this kind of music?
Tony: Yeah, we like all the young guys that have been coming up. Natanael Cano, JOP and them, all the young guys, Junior H.
What about back in the day? Did your folks listen to corridos?
Yeah, Chalino Sánchez and all those classics. At every party for sure.
What do you think of the fact that Peso Pluma is so popular here in the U.S.?
Angelica: I think it’s a good movement for Mexicans period, or Hispanics, that he’s blown up here in the U.S.
Tony: Yeah, it’s awesome to finally get somebody that’s being recognized worldwide, you know what I mean. Not just the Mexican region but here in the U.S., in Europe, in Argentina, everywhere. Colombia, everybody wants to work with him. It’s good for the Mexican people.
"I’m from Mexico, from Aguascalientes, but I grew up over here in East L.A."
What brings you here today?
I brought my son to see the Peso Pluma concert. He really likes it.
Do you listen to a lot of music in Spanish? Musica regional?
Yes, always.
What do you think of Peso Pluma and artists like him getting so big in the U.S.?
Honestly, I think he’s doing really good right now. It’s something new, you know. I think there was a need in Mexican music for someone to actually put our name out there. That’s why I brought my Mexican flag, cause this guy is kind of representing out there. He’s basically No. 1 right now. What can I say, he’s been doing great right now.
Juan has been in L.A. for three years and Glendi for two years. They live in Pico-Union.
What brings you here today?
The Peso Pluma concert. We have been fans since he started.
Did you listen to corridos or rancheras before?
Both: Yes.
And your families, do they listen to this kind of music?
Both: Yes.
Glendi: Especially my dad.
Does he like Peso Pluma?
Glendi: Yes, he’s sad that he didn’t come.
Long Beach
What brings you here today?
I’m out here to see Peso Pluma, the biggest artist out here right now.
Have you been listening to him for some time?
Yeah, for a while. Before he became famous, I’ve been listening to him.
Have you always listened to this kind of music?
Oh yeah, yeah. Like corridos, corridos tumbados. I love it, you know.
Do you listen to anything else?
I listen to reggaeton and all that, too.
What about your family? Do they listen to Mexican music?
Yeah. My family is a big fan of corridos. The old corridos, too.
What do you think of the fact that he is so popular in the U.S.?
I think it’s because of his unique voice. He’s so unique. That voice is like never heard, never before.
Topline:
With state resources having been cut, a former state biologist launches her own bear coexistence business.
Why it matters: It’s the time of year when black bears are beefing up — often on trash — in Southern California’s foothill communities. In recent years, these areas have seen a rise in conflicts with bears.
Read on ... for more on why one biologist who lost her job with the state is starting her own business to help communities live with bears.
It’s that time of year when black bears are beefing up, often on trash, in Southern California’s foothill communities.
From fall to early winter, bears quadruple their food intake in preparation for the cooler months — bears here don’t really hibernate given our mild weather and plethora of resources, but they do slow down during the winter (as we all should). And right now, mother bears are looking to find a safe place to den and have their cubs.
Bears aren’t just roaming the roads of mountain towns either. They’re in suburban neighborhood streets along the 210 Freeway corridor — including Altadena, Sierra Madre and Monrovia — and even in Encino and Tarzana.
This time of year is when humans and bears might come into conflict more frequently, says a former biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“You're going to see those bears just eating ravenously, foraging all day for food, and then also they're going to start looking for these potential denning sites under our crawl spaces, unfortunately,” said Jessica West, a human-wildlife conflict specialist who over the last five years worked for the state on bear coexistence efforts from Santa Barbara to San Diego.
Nearly 60,000 black bears are estimated to live in California. Here in Southern California, the estimate is around 2,000, according to the latest count by the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Though they may appear brown or blond, black bears are the only species of bear in California.
For thousands of years, brown bears, also called grizzly bears, were the main bear of the California landscape, including here in Southern California. But European and American settlers killed them all off by the early 1900s.
Evidence of black bears in Southern California dates to about 25,000 years ago. The theory is they headed farther north in the middle of the Ice Age as the landscape here got a lot drier and the ancient forest disappeared.
So how did black bears come back? They were brought here by the government from Yosemite as a tourist attraction. (Wild right? If you want to dig deeper, listen to our podcast about black bears in Southern California.)
Black bears are omnivores and opportunists. They primarily eat plants and bugs, but they’ll also eat animal carcasses, small mammals and, of course, whatever’s in your trash.
State resources to help communities coexist with bears have been cut. That includes West, who was the sole wildlife conflict biologist serving Southern California counties. Gov. Gavin Newsom just signed a bill into law that aims to bring some of those resources back, but in the meantime, the need remains.
“More than ever, people and bears are sharing space,” West said. "The fact is that they're here and they're not going anywhere, and we're here as humans and we're not going anywhere.”
Neither did West’s passion for wildlife coexistence when she was laid off. That’s why she just launched her own business to help fill the resource gap: Wild Neighbor.
She offers detailed property assessments and recommendations for $150. She focuses primarily on prevention, such as strategically placing electric wiring and “unwelcome” mats to secure crawl spaces, trash and other vulnerable areas, which can cost $350 to around $900 depending on the home. She also rents such equipment if residents prefer. West works with manufacturers of electric bear-resistant tools that have been vetted for fire safety and bear conflict.
“What the science shows is that the most effective deterrent that we have at this point in time in our tool belt for bears is electricity,” West said. “There's really nothing like that in the wild for bears. It's a very novel stimulus for them.”Get a bear-resistant trash can if your city offers it and it fits your budget. If you can’t, take your trash out as close to trash pickup as possible. (GPS collar data has shown that bears actually learn trash day schedules.) Or keep your trash inside a secure structure, like a closed garage.
Get rid of bird seed and hummingbird nectar feeders.
Bears have extremely powerful noses and can squeeze through even small opened windows to get to a refrigerator. So if bears are present in your neighborhood, keep accessible windows closed and locked as much as possible.
“We really want to avoid potentially orphaning those cubs,” she said.
It’s best to avoid allowing a bear to get into your crawl space or trash in the first place, West said. When bears become too accustomed to humans and eating human food, the risk of injury to people and pets rises. And the bears themselves are more likely to be euthanized.
In 2023, California hit a tragic milestone: It was the state’s first documented killing of a human by a black bear, in Northern California. In Southern California, foothill communities such as Sierra Madre have seen several bear-related injuries in recent years (more on that in our 2024 podcast on this topic). Several bears, including a well-known one in La Cañada Flintridge, have also been euthanized in recent years.
In the vast majority of cases, this is preventable, West said, if residents take a little responsibility for securing their own properties. That can also save thousands of dollars in damage caused by a bear.
Since West is no longer with the state, she can’t trap bears that have risen to the point of becoming a problem — for example, those that learn how to regularly get into homes or cars, or have lost their fear of humans. She does encourage her clients to share sightings and any concerning conflicts with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, but she doesn’t share anything herself without clients’ permission. (Learn how to report bear sightings or human-bear conflict here.)
West said that in lieu of state resources, companies like hers may become more common.
“What [clients] can expect is someone who is going to listen to them, and someone who is passionate about their job and really wants to help them,” West said. “Because at the end of the day, I'm a bear biologist by training. I love bears, but my whole goal in all of this is to help people. Because if we help people, we're also helping bears.”
Topline:
City inspectors have declared several buildings on the Peninsula unsafe to enter after Hurricane Rachel’s high surf and tides chewed away at the shoreline Thursday, tearing apart a section of a wooden wall that is the neighborhood’s last line of defense against the ocean.
The damage: Officials issued a notice Thursday night that a large section of the bulkhead, left exposed after waves from Hurricane Marie ripped away its surrounding sand, was badly damaged over the past day and left a gap that allowed water to reach homes and side streets. Residents stood in shin-deep flooding on Friday, with vehicle access closed at 62nd Place. Waves continued to chew at homes’ foundations along the shoreline and tear planks from the boardwalk. At least one home in the 6500 block of Seaside Walk appeared close to collapse.
High surf and tide continue: Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said high surf and tide are expected to rise precipitously each day through Sunday, with tides reaching 7.5 feet high on Saturday and nearly 8 feet high on Sunday morning around 10 a.m. Waves are currently ranging from 4 to 7 feet high, but are expected to rise to up to 8 feet by Sunday, he said. Conditions on Sunday evening and Monday morning, he said, will mirror Saturday, and likely will not relent in strength until Wednesday morning.
City inspectors have declared several buildings on the Peninsula unsafe to enter after Hurricane Rachel’s high surf and tides chewed away at the shoreline, tearing apart a section of a wooden wall that is the neighborhood’s last line of defense against the ocean.
Officials issued a notice Thursday night that a large section of the bulkhead, left exposed after waves from Hurricane Marie ripped away its surrounding sand, was badly damaged over the past day and left a gap that allowed water to reach homes and side streets.
Residents stood in shin-deep flooding on Friday, with vehicle access closed at 62nd Place. Waves continued to chew at homes’ foundations along the shoreline and tear planks from the boardwalk. At least one home in the 6500 block of Seaside Walk appeared close to collapse.
Laath Martin, a city spokesperson, said inspectors are still assessing the extent of the bulkhead and boardwalk damage.
Crews rushed to make emergency repairs, pump water off the streets and fill in the exposed section with roughly 1,000 sandbags. The city is bracing for rain this weekend, and more high tides and surf are expected.
Inspectors surveyed homes threatened by water damage and red-tagged two buildings containing three units in the 6400 and 6500 blocks of Seaside Walk. The red tag means they’re too dangerous to enter.
Craig Nakano, a spokesperson for the city’s Community Development Department, said Friday that nobody has been displaced by the tagging. One property was under construction, he said, while the other was confirmed by the owner to be vacant.
A third building received a yellow tag, which means its owner may go in briefly to collect belongings but may not stay. Nakano confirmed that the owner had already found somewhere else to stay.
Two buildings were already yellow-tagged after damage from Hurricane Marie weeks ago. The latest damage brings the total to five damaged Peninsula structures, two red-tagged and three yellow-tagged. The tags are preliminary, and a red tag can be downgraded to yellow once repairs are made and inspectors sign off. Inspectors will keep checking homes twice a day.
The latest bout of strong waves — whipped up by Hurricane Rachel — came just weeks after other hurricane-charged swells battered the Long Beach coast and the Peninsula.
The city is planning a multimillion-dollar dredging project to rebuild the stretch of Peninsula beach that’s been eroded. Long-term fixes are expected to be even more expensive.
In the meantime, storms keep rolling in.
Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said high surf and tide are expected to rise precipitously each day through Sunday, with tides reaching 7.5 feet high on Saturday and nearly 8 feet high on Sunday morning around 10 a.m. Waves are currently ranging from 4 to 7 feet high, but are expected to rise to up to 8 feet by Sunday, he said.
Conditions on Sunday evening and Monday morning, he said, will mirror Saturday, and likely will not relent in strength until Wednesday morning.
The NWS expects to announce a flood warning later Friday. They currently have an advisory running through Tuesday. Warnings are usually triggered when coastal buoys the Service monitors — in this case ones in the San Pedro Channel and city harbor — are routinely hit with high enough surf, Lewis explained.
This storm could also bring rain and wind. The city expects up to a half-inch of precipitation this weekend and gusts strong enough to knock down trees and power lines.
“Protecting our residents is our top priority as high surf and erosion impact our Peninsula community,” Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement. He praised emergency crews and urged residents to “be prepared and follow City guidance.”
Lewis said rain showers could start in the area as early as Friday night and Saturday morning, with a second storm system hitting the area on Monday. Showers are expected to total between a half inch and three quarters of an inch of rain.
“This will bring additional rain, so that’s kind of separate from what tropical storm Rachel could be responsible for,” Lewis said.
Topline:
Metrolink, Southern California’s regional commuter rail service, is preparing for major service cuts — slashing 29% of weekday trains and 40% of weekend trains.
Why it matters: The changes would mostly impact Orange County and Antelope Valley lines, which have the highest percentage of service cuts under the proposal.
Background: The service cuts are part of Metrolink’s proposed budget for this fiscal year. It’s mostly funded by Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties’ transportation agencies. For more than a year, Metrolink officials have been designing a budget that member agencies, like the OC Transportation Authority and LA Metro, would approve of. Both OCTA and L.A. Metro proposed cutting its subsidies to the rail service.
What do riders think? At the Metrolink board meeting on Friday, several riders expressed concern over the service cuts.
“This is going to be a net negative for MetroLink. I'm very concerned that we're going to be back here in six months, looking at even more severe cuts,” Adriana Rizzo, a founding member of Californians for Electric Rail, said in public comment. “MetroLink is essential for the economy. It's essential to keep our region moving, and we cannot just let it die.”
Read on … for more on the cuts.
Metrolink, Southern California’s regional commuter rail service, is planning for major service cuts — slashing 29% of weekday trains and 40% of weekend trains. Those cuts could go into effect as soon as next month.
The Metrolink Board of Directors on Friday voted to move forward with a $420 million budget proposal for this fiscal year, which includes the service cuts. The proposal now goes to member agencies for review and approval.
A majority of Metrolink’s budget is funded by Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties’ transportation agencies. For more than a year, Metrolink officials have been building a budget that member agencies, like the Orange County Transportation Authority and L.A. Metro, would approve as it struggles to close its funding gaps.
The service announcement comes the same week as the agency rolled out fare increases.
Metrolink officials blame low ridership numbers for the budget troubles and increasing operational costs for the potential change in service.
The agency expects an 18% dip in ticket revenue in the next fiscal year. On top of that, both OCTA and L.A. Metro proposed cutting their subsidies to the rail service by millions of dollars.
Tom Schamber, Metrolink's chief financial officer, said the service cuts were necessary to balance the budget.
“These cuts were targeted at low-performing trains and trains that overlap with the Pacific Surfliner service,” Schamber said. “The schedule will look more like a commuter rail service focused on weekdays during peak periods.”
In Orange County, the number of weekend trains will be cut in half and weekday trains by nearly 40%. Weekday service to Oceanside is included in those cuts.
San Bernardino and Antelope Valley lines will also see major service cuts to weekday and weekend trains. Weekday trains for the Ventura County line were cut by 36%.
You can see the proposed service schedule here.
During public comment on Friday, many riders expressed concern that Metrolink was entering a transit death spiral — a slippery cycle where fewer services and higher fares lead to fewer riders and deeper financial trouble.
Cooper Crane, a UC Riverside graduate student and historian of Southern California’s public transportation network, said the cuts make the service impractical.
“It is going to bring Metrolink into a death spiral, which could be compared to the historic collapse of services such as the Pacific Electric here in Southern California,” Crane said. “We don't want to experience something like the collapse of the Pacific Electric again, but the budget cuts that have been made by Orange County and the lack of government commitment to the support for the service is pretty much exactly what that will lead to.”
Mason Buck of Irvine said he mainly uses the Metrolink services recreationally.
“You can understand my concern when I look, and I see weekend service getting absolutely gutted in Orange County. … Issues like this are extremely frustrating to me because it feels like such a self-inflicted wound,” Buck said. “I just want an alternative to driving.”
The changes will not just stunt ridership growth but exacerbate ridership loss, Adriana Rizzo, a founding member of Californians for Electric Rail, said.
“This is going to be a net negative for Metrolink. I'm very concerned that we're going to be back here in six months, looking at even more severe cuts,” Rizzo said. “Metrolink is essential for the economy. It's essential to keep our region moving, and we cannot just let it die.”
County transportation agencies need to consider and adopt the budget before it goes back to the Metrolink board for final approval on Oct. 23.
Metrolink’s public hearing is scheduled for Oct. 23 at 10 a.m. in the Metro Board Room at 1 Gateway Plaza in Los Angeles.
You can also participate in the meeting online here.
Comments for the public hearing must be made in-person or submitted ahead of time via e-mail to BoardSecretary@scrra.net.
Topline:
El Niño’s signature heavy rains will likely make roads more treacherous. Officials want you to take steps now to get your car ready.
Preparing your car: Replace worn out windshield wipers. Fix broken or burned out headlights and brake lights. Get new tires if yours are old, worn or damaged. Make sure to check your tire pressure too.
Stay out of floodwaters: If you find yourself driving during heavy rain and flooding, never attempt to drive or walk through floodwaters. Emergency management officials say one of the most common causes of death during storms is flooding, with many of those in vehicles.
Read on … for our full guide on how to prepare your car.
Southern California roads are likely to get more treacherous soon because of El Niño.
The climate pattern’s signature heavy rainstorms are expected to hit over the next few months, and some coastal roads could be impacted by surging sea levels much sooner than that.
We could also get a taste of what that will look like this weekend with Tropical Storm Rachel expected to pass through Baja California and the San Diego area. High surf has already been slamming the coast, and forecasters predict the first widespread rain of the season starting this weekend.
All this rain on the horizon means extra risks for the many Southern Californians who spend a lot of time driving.
Officials are urging residents to get their cars ready now for an especially wet El Niño season.
As with home, there is a series of steps to take to ensure your car can safely get you around during extreme weather.
First, consider replacing your windshield wipers, especially if they’re worn out. According to AAA, most manufacturers recommend replacing wipers every six to 12 months.
Take a look at your headlights and brake lights too. If they’re broken or their bulbs have burned out, replace them. If the lenses are weathered or hazy, have them cleaned up or restored.
Also replace old or worn tires. AAA recommends replacing tires every six to 10 years or if you see any bulges, bubbles, sidewall damage, separated treads or exposed cords.
You can also use a quarter for a quick, unofficial tire test. If you stick a quarter between your tire’s treads with the top of George Washington facing the tire and can still see the top of his head, the treads are wearing down and due for replacement soon.
Use a tire gauge to check your tire pressure too. The correct psi is usually listed on the inside of your car door or in the owner’s manual. You can add air to your tires at just about any gas station.
It’s also a good idea to keep certain supplies in your car in case you become stranded, including a flashlight and batteries, a cellphone charger, a jacket, gloves and a first-aid kit.
If you find yourself driving during heavy rain and flooding, never attempt to drive or walk through floodwaters.
Emergency management officials say one of the most common causes of death during storms is flooding, with many of those deaths in vehicles.
“Driving during rain can be hazardous, especially when we're not following the signs and the directions of our first responders and of the road departments,” said Mark Pestrella, director of L.A. County of Public Works. “If you are traveling in L.A. County and it is raining, and there is a sign up that says, ‘Do not go through this water,’ I advise you not to go across that street.”
Even if a flooded street seems shallow, it’s impossible to know exactly how deep the water is or what’s under the surface. Just 6 inches of fast-moving water can knock over an adult, and a foot of water can carry away a car.
