River of mud flows through Duarte neighborhood

(FOX 11) - As night fell in Duarte, this front loader was busy clearing canyon neighborhood streets of mud and debris.

Residents were also digging out.

At the height of the downpour muddy water rushed over the k-rails sending mud, rocks and debris flowing down Mel Canyon road.

Mayor Pro-tem John Fasana's house is right in the path of potential destruction. "Seeing it come up high and bouncing on top of the k rails is awe inspiring and something you don't see very often just home that people are safe." said Fasana.

Luckily for him and others the city made the decision to put up k-rails afew months ago. A decision for which city manager Darrell George says he took a lot of heat.

"The vindication is that we're getting amazing thank you from residents who previously said why did you do this to us."

Nearby, valley view elementary sits right along Mel Canyon road.

"We looked outside and we saw like mud and waves of water and mud and everything." said 12 year-old Nicole Gallivan.

School was let out early when the storm hit. Luckily, no homes were damaged as most of the debris landed in the street.