The El Ninos back in the late 70’s filled the LA river just about to the top where it goes past Compton. Saw it with my own eyes. That was a lot of water....
The reason they cemented the LA River (and others that come down from the mountains) is that, when it does rain here in So Cal, it dumps.
There are photos from the 1920s of terrible flash floods and walls of mud that took out whole sections of town, homes, cars, people. It is semi-arid, flash flood country, and the mountains have huge granite boulders and lots of exposed soil. Add forest fire damange and the soil cannot hold when it rains torrents. There are intersections that fill with water even now, that you cannot cross in an automobile.
The original San Gabriel Mission was 9 miles SE from its current site. It, too, was flooded one winter for miles on either side, through Whittier Narrows area. The folks who lived there lost livestock, crops, houses, and the mission and stockade too. Pictures show a huge lake. They moved to higher ground.
There will be water in the LA River, now and then, mostly in the winter. An “intermittent river’ they call it. When it is full, I guarantee you there will be no kayakers in it. They have River Rescue people for those times, because kids fall in and get swept to sea.
“The El Ninos back in the late 70’s filled the LA river just about to the top where it goes past Compton”
In 1916 my father came up to LA durring the storm and rode the street car from down town to Glendale and I wouldn’t go any farther than Fletcher DR because the water was up rto the ties which were about 60 feet above Roverside Dr and Fletcher Dr.
Our office was under 80 feet of water.
All of Atwater, Eagle Rock, and So. Glendale were under water because it couldn’t get ot from between Mt Washington and Elesian Park.
When I was a kid I can remember going down and sitting on the top edge with my feet in the water.
Ben, it was almost to the top in north long beach about 8-10
Years ago too.