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VIDEO: Resident's Flash Flood Images

Roberta Gould of Forest Falls took photos and video in Mill Creek Canyon on Friday Aug. 17 when heavy rains unleashed boulders, mud and logs in the wash near town.

"My first experience observing a flash flood in this area," Roberta Gould of Forest Falls said about video she shot Friday Aug. 17 in Mill Creek Canyon, east of Redlands and Loma Linda.

"Kind of shaky filming but I was kind of excited . . . and a little nervous . . . " she said. "It's unreal the power of nature. It's an eye-opener."

Gould shared video and photos with Redlands-Loma Linda Patch over the weekend. More of her work can viewed on her blog, In Other Words and Pictures.

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Flash floods and erosion sometimes occur in Mill Creek Canyon when it rains hard. On Friday, a swift-water rescue team assisted at least two individuals who were caught on the north side of the wash.

Boulder-laden debris flows and avalanches in the canyon over the years have killed people, including a resident in 1999 who died when several homes were destroyed next to Snow Creek.

Find out what's happening in Redlands-Loma Lindawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A USGS study determined the 1999 debris avalanche in Forest Falls was moving a minimum 40 to 55 miles per hour. More photos from the 1999 incident can be viewed here.

Geologists say the steepness and instability of the canyon walls, formed by a linear fault underlying the creek, contribute to the debris that moves through Forest Falls.

Environmental Systems Research Insistute of Redlands, also known as Esri, details some of the hazards in Mill Creek Canyon on a page titled "Modeling the Raging Waters of Forest Falls."

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