Los Angeles County was the fastest growing county in the country from 1980 to 1992. Its beauty has attracted millions of people over the years, but it is one of the most difficult places to live geological. Many population centers are located in areas prone to earthquakes, floods, landslides, and mudflows. Increase population growth in Southern California puts tremendous pressure on the environment. For example, increase recreation in the San Gabriel Mountains will increase the number of fires. Fires lead to erosion and erosion can lead to landslides. Today we will look at one specific County located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, La Crescenta. We will attempt to address the issues in which the community is concern with, the safety of the children while attending school. There are three particular schools in which we will look at, Monte Vista, Valley View, and Rosemont Junior High School. .
With the increase population growth in the foothills, developers have altered hillsides and drainage systems, replaced absorbent topsoil's with runoff-causing asphalt. As the area has become more crowded, it has become necessary and desirable to build homes into the hillsides. In order to build safely on steep slopes, developers have had to alter the slopes, thus decreasing the slope stability. .
Southern California has distinct wet seasons. In La Crescenta floods are more likely to occur during the winter months December - March. As a developer we do not need to spend the communities funds building more schools, but putting emergency action plans in place in the event of a catastrophic flooding. The community is prone to natural floods, landslides, and mudflows. It would be unrealistic to believe that we could develop schools in the community that would not be affected by the natural hazards of the lands. Since rainfall-induced debris flows develop over several hours, leaving some time for forecasting, warning, and emergency response.