Snow melt from SoCal mountains washes out roads in Sunland

SUNLAND, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Residents in Sunland said getting around their neighborhood feels like “driving through the Red Sea” as the immense snowfall that fell last week is beginning to melt, creating a messy, wet commute.

The water released from the Big Tujunga Dam has been rushing into the Big Tujunga wash, making roads in their area impassable.

After the recent heavy rain, the water has risen as high as 4 ft.

“You kind of have to prepare yourself before you head down and you kind of hope that the water isn’t going to be too high,” said Cara Stearnsentz, who lives in the Riverwood Ranch neighborhood of Sunland. “Then you drive across and then you have to be careful and you don’t want to stall and that kind of thing, you just start of slowly keep going.”

Residents said the wash is a part of living in Riverwood Ranch, but they’ve been working with L.A. County for years to put in a bridge or create a feature that would divert the dam water to a nearby creek.

However, they said those requests have gone unheard for several years.

“They just kick the can down the road every time something happens,” said resident Michael Schaafsma. “We get a lot of input when there is a flood, then after that, we get nothing and it’s been going on for a long time.”

Other residents Eyewitness News met while crossing the water agree that something should be done.

“It’s not good,” said Riverwood Ranch resident Cathy Pellou. “I would love if my property taxes – which are also enormous – paid to at least have a road to my house.”

ABC7 spoke with L.A. County Public Works who said crews are aware of the issue in Riverwood Ranch, but that the crossing was intentionally built that way.

They called it an Arizona crossing, which is a type of culvert crossing. As the water comes down, crews can then conduct groundwater replenishment work in the area.