OC residents living near burn scar areas prepare for potential mudslides

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - Ominous gray skies loom over the Blue Ridge fire burn scar area in Yorba Linda. 

The fire, which sparked last October, came within feet of homes on Foxtail Drive, forcing residents to flee.

Resident Tania Ngo had to evacuate. But even though the fire is put out, she is facing a new threat… potential mudslides. 

"I don’t have any sandbags, not ready for that but you know we are ready to pack and go if we need to go," she told FOX 11’s Stephanie Stanton. 

At the nearby fire station the county is offering free sandbags to residents who live in the burn areas. 

Firefighters are also on standby but say this first SoCal storm of 2021 isn’t enough to cause major problems yet. Officials are looking ahead to mid-week when stronger storms are expected to move through.

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"When the heavier rain comes in the soil is already saturated so at this point that water now is going to flow because it’s not going to go into the soil because it’s already saturated," said OCFA Capt. Stephen Horner. 

But despite the potential mudslide dangers these Orange County residents say the rain is a welcome sight.

"You can always smell it coming and we need a lot more of it in this state," said one resident. 

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But for residents like Ngo, who has had to evacuate twice in the last 10 years, she says she’s now thinking about saying goodbye to her home of 23 years.

"It’s very close every year and we have to watch over it and the fire and then we’re concerned about it. We think about moving."

Orange County is offering free sandbags to local residents in the burn areas or those at risk for mud and debris flow. For information on free sandbags visit OCFA.org.