Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti discusses channel capacity with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District Commander Col. Kirk Gibbs and Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis at a press conference Jan. 8 that followed the first El Nino storms to hit the Los Angeles area this season. Gibbs joined Garcetti and Solis at the conference to announce the Corps will begin interim risk reduction measures to improve flood protection on the Los Angeles River during El Niño. The District received emergency funding to begin work Jan. 11 on an area of the river that spans from Griffith Park to Elysian Valley.