Heavy rain battered Southern California on Thursday and made for dangerous conditions near burn scars from recent wildfires.

They’re also costly — Santa Barbara County spent $20 million on a new basin after 2018 — and must be emptied occasionally or they can be overwhelmed by new landslides or mudslides.

Mudslides are dangerous torrents that are usually referred to by geologists and first responders as debris flows. They have been particularly lethal in parts of California where landscape, climate ...

California has worked to add tools to protect against mudslides, including pinpointing hot spots, creating basins and placing nets to capture falling debris before it hits homes. California has ...

FILE - Permit Sonoma Director Tennis Wick crosses a mudslide to inspect a home as heavy rains fall near Healdsburg in unincorporated Sonoma County, Calif., Nov. 22, 2024. Noah Berger - FR34727 AP ...