Back in the summer of 68 we had a 600 acre fire on the mountains directly in back of our house. I remember standing next to a line of firefighters waiting to cross a field of brush to get at the fire coming down the mountain side. That fire was put down pretty quick and quite possible saved our hood because later in the summer a huge fire consuming many thousands of acres burned in the San Gabriels (all the way back to the East Fork). You could see the line of fire looking like Christmas tree lights moving down the mountain. One of the water bombers went down killing the crew.
Starting on Jan 18, 1969 through February 26, 1969 we had a once in a 40 year type of rain storm which dumped some 39 inches of rain on the fire denuded hillsides. which cause massive flooding all along the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains.
About 5:30 one morning in January 69 my Dad woke me up opened the kitchen door and showed me the dog swimming in our garage. What had happened is an earthen dam had given way, causing a wall of water to cascade down the canyon to the valley below. A wall of water literally crested our neighbors 6 foot block wall (about 300 feet of it) knocking it over. What I did that morning was got dressed went out and helped a fireman cut open our chain link fence to let the water escape from our neighbors yard. Our driveway along with all the others on our street were raging rivers..For the next month it was touch and go as more rain fell and the flood channels would over flow. Finally the order was given to evacuate, but we didn't have to because the rain had finally stopped.
To get an idea of what it was like the following AP News reel shows basically the aftermath of that morning. That was my neighborhood growing up, those pictures were taken two blocks directly north of my house..Along Palm Dr and Glencoe Heights which led back up to where the earthen dam that gave way was located. I went to school with the kids who lived in some of those houses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14uug-BemcQ
Second vid is basically home movies the first part shows the fire denuded hillsides,..16 minutes in is where I start to really recognize the area. Mostly Rubel Farm and Glencoe Heights which was a N/S running private road.. The Colonial style mansion on the side of the hill earlier in the vid was about a mile and half west of where I grew up. It was built by the owner and founder of the Rain Bird Corp Mary Lafetra..She eventually donated the house to Azusa Pacific College. Later in life I had a conversation with her in Hong Kong..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTiRD9Hnrxo