The Writers Guild of America has canceled its scheduled pickets in Los Angeles for Monday in an abundance of caution ahead of Hurricane Hilarys expected arrival.
The guild plans to resume pickets on Tuesday outside of Disney, NBC Universal, Radford and Warner Bros., Amazon, Fox, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, and TV City.
The category 4 tropical storm is expected to deliver harmful flooding to the southwestern U.S. as it climbs up the coast along the California-Mexico border. For the first time in history, the National Hurricane Center has issued a tropical storm watch which is in effect for the area including the Orange County-Los Angeles County area and Catalina Island.
Here are the 2 PM PDT Friday, August 18, Key Messages for Hurricane #Hilary. Life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flooding is likely over much of Baja California and southern California this weekend and early next week. pic.twitter.com/JYY53C1Oz0
NHC Eastern Pacific (@NHC_Pacific) August 18, 2023 On Friday morning, Hurricane Hilary was located nearly 360 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, moving northwest at 10 mph with sustained winds of 145 mph.
Forecasters project the hurricane will lessen in strength after moving up from Mexico, but will bring heavy rainfall to Southern California, which, according to NBC News, mostly on Sunday and Monday.
SAG-AFTRA has yet to announce any coming changes in plans in preparation for the storm. As of Friday mid-afternoon, pickets are still scheduled to resume on Monday. A rep for the guild did not immediately respond to Varietys request for comment, but sources say that a cancellation is likely.
The pickets are just one set of events that have experienced changes due to the coming weather. The Hollyshorts film festival closing night has switched locations from the Hollywood Highland Ovation Centers outdoor courtyard over to Bardots indoor venue. (Originally, only the afterparty was scheduled to be held at Bardot.)
The Palm Springs and Yucca Valley areas of the Southern California desert are likely to be among the most affected, and Joshua Tree National Park will be closed from Saturday until Tuesday.