Countywide COVID-19 Information

Community Letters

If you live in the risk area, see below for helpful information.

FEMA Flood After Fire Fact Sheet
Flood After Fire Infographic

Community Meetings

There are currently no community meetings are planned for Riverside County communities near recent burn scars. If meetings are scheduled, the date, time and location will be posted here.

Community Meeting Archive

Presentations from each meeting, and playbacks from the meetings.

COMING SOON

What is a debris flow?

Debris flows are fast-moving, deadly landslides. They are powerful mixtures of mud, rocks, boulders, trees - and sometimes homes or vehicles.

You'll often hear "debris flows" called "mudslides" or "mudflows." Many people use the terms interchangeabley, but to scientists, each is a different kind of landslide. Debris flows are the most powerful and dangerous of the three.

Read our Debris Flow Frequently Asked Questions to learn more. For a Spanish version, click here.

Safety Steps to Prepare

BEFORE THE STORM:

Determine if your home, business, schools or necessary travel routes are in the at-risk areas by referring to the maps above.

Learn the plan for your local school. Parents of school age children should contact their school district or visit their websites to learn what steps the district will take to ensure student safety. This may include school closures and evacuations.

Know all your local access roads and understand that some may be blocked by debris or water. Have an alternate route. Stay informed or road and highway conditions by visiting the Riverside County Transportation Department's website at rctlma.org/trans and Caltrans' website at quickmap.dot.ca.gov.
Learn about debris flows by reading these Frequently Asked Questions. Their dangers are different than the water and mud of typical storms. Click here for Spanish Frequently Asked Questions.

Flood insurance: Most homeowners insurance does not cover floods or flows from natural disasters. Make sure your home is protected. Refer to the National Flood Insurance Program website at FEMA.gov/national-flood-insurance-program. Act now. Most flood insurance policies take up to 30 days to go into effect.

Have an emergency plan and a disaster kit ready to go. For more information, click here.

AS A STORM APPROACHES:

Follow all orders by public safety officials. Sign up for emergency alerts at RivCoReady.org/AlertRivCo.

Leave before any flows begin, this the only safe time to leave. If debris flows, mud or water are already flowing, get higher than the flow, such as going to the highest floor in your home.

Heed all evacuations. Evacuations Warnings will be issued for at-risk areas 24-48 hours before an expected storm. As stated above, the safest time to leave is before any flow begins. Evacuation Orders will be issued 6-12 hours before the storm.

Monitor official weather reports and heed weather alerts. Understand that the weather where you are can be different than back in the mountains where the flows start.

Never drive or walk into flood waters, mud or debris, and never go around barricades. It is impossible to know how deep the water or mud is just by looking at it and the depth can change quickly.

Protect your property structures with sandbags and other methods to divert water from entering structures and reduce erosion on your property. Visit RVCFire.org to see a list of local fire station offering limited and unfilled sandbags and sand. Read the County's new Flood Guide for Homeowners to learn about protecting your home and property.

As always, in case of emergency, dial 9-1-1.

Burn Assessment Reports

A team of experts from State and Federal agencies evaluated the soil impacts after the Holy and Cranston Fires. Read the reports below to review recommendations for public agencies and property owners.

HOLY FIRE REPORTS:

CRANSTON FIRE REPORT:

Burned Area Emergency Response Report

Official Sources of Information

TWITTER:

County of Riverside Emergency Management Department
@RivCoReady
CALFIRE/Riverside County Fire Department
@CALFIRERRU
Riverside County Sheriff's Department
@RSOPIOWest
County of Riverside Transportation Department
@RivCoTrans
City of Lake Elsinore
@CtyLakeElsinore
Lake Elsinore Unified School District
@LakeElsinoreUSD
Corona Norco Unified School District
@CNUSD
Caltrans, District 8
@Caltrans8

FACEBOOK:

County of Riverside Emergency Management Department
@RivCoReady
CALFIRE/Riverside County Fire Department
@CALFIRERRU
Riverside County Sheriff's Department
@RiversideCountySheriff
County of Riverside Transportation Department
@RivCoTrans
City of Lake Elsinore
@CityofLakeElsinore
Lake Elsinore Unified School District
@LakeElsinoreUSD
Corona Norco Unified School District
@CNUSD
Caltrans, District 8
@Caltrans8

COMMUNITY EVACUATION MAPS

Some communities in Riverside County feature characteristics such as unique topography or limited evacuation routes. In some of these communities Public Safety officials utilize zones to alert residents of emergencies and to conduct evacuations. By knowing your zone you will be able to quickly react when evacuations are called for. These zones may be used for a number of emergencies but are primerily used for fires and storms/flooding. Zones may be subdivided depending on the emergency and conditions to lessen the impacts on a community so that only those in danger are evacuated or notified.

APPLE FIRE

Riverside County agencies are working with various other agencies to evaluate the Apple Fire burn scar in the Cherry Valley area. As more information becomes available about the potential for mud and debris flows from the Apple Fire, that information will be shared here.

Click on the map below on the left, to see zones in the Temescal Valley/Lake Elsinore area. Click on the map below on the right, to see zones in Riverside County mountain communities.

When dangerous conditions approach, these risk maps will show areas under evacuation warnings and orders:

During evacuation warnings and orders, you should leave immediately and seek shelter outside all evacuation zones.

If you are told to evacuate but you stay, you are risking your life. If you do not evacuate when evacuations are called for you could be isolated and trapped without help for many days, with roads impassible and utilities disrupted or destroyed.

BLUE areas of the map indicate areas that are at risk for flooding, mud and debris flows. Impacts to these areas may include roads that may become impassible and deadly, as well as disrupted or destroyed utilities.
YELLOW means a zone is currently under Evacuation Warning: Potential threat to life and/or property. Those who require additional time to evacuate, and those with pets and livestock should leave now.
RED means a zone is currently under an Evacuation Order: Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to leave now. The area is lawfully closed to public access.