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ByKristinJ.Bender The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO After all the talk, El Niño storms have finally lined up over the Pacific and started soaking drought-parched California with rain ex- pected to last for most of the next two weeks, fore- casters said Monday. As much as 15 inches of rain could fall in the next 16 days in Northern Cali- fornia, with about 2 feet of snow expected in the high- est points of the Sierra Ne- vada, said Johnny Powell, a forecaster with the National Weather Service. To the south, persistent wet conditions could put some Los Angeles County communities at risk of flash-flooding along with mud and debris flows, es- pecially in wildfire burn ar- eas. The brewing El Niño sys- tem — a warming in the Pacific Ocean that alters weather worldwide — is ex- pected to impact California and the rest of the nation in the coming weeks and months. Its effects on Califor- nia's drought are difficult to predict, but Jet Propul- sion Laboratory climatol- ogist Bill Patzert said it should bring at least some relief. Doug Carlson, spokes- man for the California De- partment of Water Re- sources, pointed out that four years of drought have left California with a water deficit that is too large for one El Nino year to totally overcome. Come April 1 — when the snowpack is typically at its deepest — water managers will be better able to gauge the situation. "Mother Nature has a way of surprising or disap- pointing us," Carlson said. The record drought in California has forced Gov. Jerry Brown to order cities to conserve water by 25 per- cent compared to the same period in 2013. El Niños in the early 1980s and late 1990s brought about twice as much rain as normal, Patzert said. The weather also caused mudslides, flooding and high surf. In recent weeks, a weather pattern partly linked with El Niño has turned winter upside-down across the nation, bringing spring-like warmth to the Northeast, a risk of torna- does in the South, and so much snow across the West that even ski slopes have been overwhelmed. Big parts of the country are basking in above-av- erage temperatures, espe- cially east of the Mississippi River and across the North- ern Plains. In Los Angeles County foothills beneath wild- fire burn areas, residents braced Monday for possi- ble flash flooding and de- bris flows. Workers in Azusa cleared storm drains and handed out sandbags, while in nearby Glendora, po- lice announced restricted parking measures for steep roadways under barren hill- sides. Residents were urged to monitor weather reports and consider stockpiling sand bags. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti warned people to clear gutters and anything in their yard that might clog storm drains; assemble an emergency kit; and stock- pile sandbags if their home is susceptible to flooding. An effort also was under way to provide shelter for homeless people. "We want as little dam- age and destruction and as little death as possible," Garcetti said. Between 2 and 3.5 inches of rain is predicted to fall across the coastal and val- ley areas of Southern Cali- fornia through Friday, with up to 5 inches falling in the mountains. The first wave of rain started in Northern Califor- nia with light showers Sun- day and was expected to pick up strength and cover a large area of the region, the weather service said. "This series of storms are definitely associated with the El Niño phenom- enon in that the jet stream has taken a fairly signifi- cant southward trajectory in the Pacific on its return flow back into the Califor- nia coastline," said Bob Benjamin, a forecaster with the weather service. Forecasters say a sec- ond, stronger storm is ex- pected to arrive in North- ern California late Monday. At least two more storms are expected to follow on Wednesday and Thursday, possibly bringing as much as 3 inches of rain. "Friday looks like a dry, clear day but more rain is expected Saturday," Pow- ell said. In Arizona, El Niño con- ditions will help push a parade of Pacific Ocean storms inland with light to moderate snow falling in the high country and rain in lower elevations, fore- casters said Monday. The National Weather Service says a series of weather systems will drop snow in the high country and rain in lower elevations as the week progresses. WEATHER CaliforniabracesforseriesofElNiñostorms WATCHARAPHOMICINDA—SANGABRIELVALLEYTRIBUNE Glendora Police cadet Matt Wending, center, helps resident Frank Salazar with loading sandbags to his to car at Glendora City Yard in Glendora on Monday, as Southern California prepare for El Niño. DAMIAN DOVARGANES — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Tents used by the homeless line a downtown Los Angeles street. By Don Thompson The Associated Press SACRAMENTO California would spend more than $2 billion on permanent hous- ing to help the nation's larg- est homeless population, under a proposal outlined by state senators on Mon- day. The housing bond would be enough to help local gov- ernments construct more than 10,000 housing units primarily for those with mental illness when it's combined with other fed- eral and local money, esti- mated Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles. "It is despicable that in the richest state, that is the state of California, that just last night thousands of Californians laid their tired bodies on a sidewalk or on a cardboard," Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, said during a news conference broadcast from Los Ange- les' Skid Row. Homelessness has be- come a growing issue across the state. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban De- velopment's 2015 Annual Homeless Assessment Re- port to Congress says nearly 116,000 people are homeless in California, more than a fifth of the nation's home- less population. The same report projects that more than 29,000 are chronically homeless in California. Los Angeles' homeless population increased more than 10 percent in the last two years. The Los Ange- les City Council declared a homelessness crisis in No- vember as it prepared to change city ordinances to let people temporarily live in their cars and sleep on sidewalks. In October, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors declared a "shelter crisis" because of concerns that strong winter storms could flood home- less camped along riverbeds and storm drains. Neighboring Orange County is buying a $4.25 million warehouse for a 200-bed homeless shelter. In Sacramento, police have clashed in recent days with homeless camped out- side City Hall to protest an ordinance prohibiting such urban camping. The bond lawmakers pro- posed Monday would be re- paid with money from Prop- osition 63, the 2004 bal- lot measure that added a 1 percent tax on incomes over $1 million to pay for mental health treatment. The Senate proposal would target the housing money to chronically home- less persons with mental ill- ness. More than 90 percent of the Proposition 63 money raised each year would con- tinue to go to existing pro- grams. Senators also want to use $200 million from the state's general fund over the next four years to provide rent subsidies and other shorter-term assistance while the permanent hous- ing is built. De Leon also called for increased spending in the the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplemen- tary Payment program that aids about 1.3 million poor elderly, blind, and disabled people who can't work. But he said the amount will have to be negotiated with the Assembly and with Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who presents his proposed budget on Thurs- day. The Brown administra- tion supports empowering local governments to ad- dress homelessness, pov- erty, and mental health is- sues and will take a close look at the Senate propos- als, Deborah Hoffman, a spokeswoman for the gov- ernor, said in an email. State lawmakers propose $2B plan to aid the homeless CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016 8 A