Construction on Highland Place Debris Wall to Start Saturday

Crews are gearing up to start construction on a debris wall in the Madison Fire burn areas.

Construction is set to begin Saturday on the wall above Highland Place, said Alexis Newell, a city of Monrovia spokeswoman.

In August, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors authorized the county's chief engineer for the Flood Control District to move forward with installing post-fire debris barriers at a cost not to exceed $920,000.

The Madison Fire happened in April 2013. 

The city and the county's Public Works Department worked together on a post-fire assessment of the hillside burn area in an effort to deal with safety issues for homes, according to the city's website. County staff also has met with homeowners individually about safety concerns. 

An evaluation was made about the risks of mudflow in the area, which could happen in the next five years with any moderate or severe rainstorms, according to city officials.

The barriers will be designed to deal with this mudflow and give vegetation five years to grow back.

"The safety of the people of the neighborhood below the 2013 Madison Fire area requires the District to take immediate action using Public Work forces to install temporary debris barriers above the neighborhood in anticipation of the significantly increased debris flow impacts that may occur until the burn area has recovered," wrote Gail Farber, the county's public works director. 

"The timber rail wall will serve as a debris dam, allowing water to flow through, but not large rock, dirt and other hillside debris," city officials wrote on the website.