Powerful holiday storm lashes southern California, brings flash floods, mudslides

A powerful winter storm swept across California on Wednesday with heavy rains and gusty winds bringing mudslides and debris flows that have led to some water rescues and evacuation orders Debris and mud were seen cascading down a road in Wrightwood in a video posted by county fire officialsForecasters said Southern California could see its wettest Christmas in years and warned about flash flooding and mudslides Areas scorched by Januarys wildfires were under evacuation warnings and Los Angeles County officials said the previous day that they delivered about 380 evacuation orders to especially vulnerable homesSan Bernardino County firefighters said they rescued people trapped in their cars when mud and debris rushed down a road leading into Wrightwood a mountain resort town in the San Gabriel Mountains about 80 miles 130 kilometres northeast of Los Angeles It was not immediately clear how many were rescuedFirefighters also went door to door to check on residents and the area was under a shelterinplace order officials said Lytle Creek also in the San Gabriel Mountains was under evacuation orders in the afternoon as rains continued to pummel the areaDebris and mud were seen cascading down a road in Wrightwood in a video posted by county fire officials Another video showed fastmoving water rushing through the front porch of several homesThe storm stranded Dillan Brown with his wife and 14monthold daughter at a rented cabin in Wrightwood with almost no food and only enough diapers for about another day By the morning roads leading off the mountain and to a grocery store were blocked by rocks and debris Brown saidI came across a road where there was a car sucked away by the water and realised we were trapped here he saidA resident learned of his situation and posted a call for help in a Facebook group and in less than an hour neighbours showed up with more than enough supplies to ride out the storm including bread vegetables milk diapers and wipesI think were a little sad and upset that were not going to be home with our families Brown said but the kindness shown is definitely an overwhelming feelingJanice Quick president of the Wrightwood Chamber of Commerce and a resident of the mountain town for 45 years said a wildfire in 2024 left much of the terrain without tree coverage and all this rain is bringing down a lot of debris and a lot of mud from the mountain areaResidents around the burn scar zones from the Airport Fire in Orange County were also ordered to evacuateAreas along the coast including Malibu were under flood warnings until the evening and much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area were also under wind and flood advisoriesHeavy rain douses Southern CaliforniaSeveral roadways including a part of Interstate 5 near the Burbank Airport were closed due to floodingConditions could worsen with multiple atmospheric rivers during one of the busiest travel weeks of the yearThe rain began tapering off in the evening in Los Angeles but another storm system was on the horizon with showers and possible thunderstorms on Christmas DayJames Dangerfield an 84yearold resident of Altadena said his family and neighbours helped place sandbags in his backyard earlier this week A flash flood warning was issued for the neighbourhood but he wasnt too worried because his house is on a hillHe and his wife Stephanie planned to remain there and spend Christmas Eve with their two adult daughters and grandchildrenWere just going to stay put and everybody will have to come to us Dangerfield said Were not going to go anywhereMike Burdick who takes care of his parents in Altadena near burn scars from the Eaton Fire ran out to buy more sandbags in the morning when he saw that the pool was overflowingI literally woke up to just downpour he saidThe family was prepared to evacuate with a weeks worth of essentials including for their dog and catSouthern California typically gets half an inch to 1 inch 13 to 25 centimetres of rain this time of year but this week many areas could see between 4 and 8 inches 10 to 20 centimetres with even more in the mountains National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford saidMuch of California under weather warningsForecasters said heavy snow and gusts were expected to create near whiteout conditions in parts of the Sierra Nevada and make travel nearly impossible through mountain passes There was also a considerable avalanche risk around Lake Tahoe according to the Sierra Avalanche CenterThe National Weather Service said a winter storm warning would be in effect for the greater Tahoe region until Friday morningPower was knocked out to more than 125000 due to a damaged power pole according to the Pacific Gas and Electric Co utilityThe California Highway Patrol was investigating a seemingly weatherrelated crash south of Sacramento in which Sacramento Sheriff Deputy James Caravallo died Caravallo was apparently travelling at an unsafe speed lost control on a wet road and crashed into a power pole CHP Officer Michael Harper said via emailCaravallo was with the sheriffs office for 19 years the agency said in a post on social mediaOur hearts are with Deputy Caravallos family and we ask the public to keep Deputy Caravallos loved ones and our Sheriffs Office family in their thoughts and prayers it saidA flash flood warning was issued for portions of Sacramento in the evening as more severe weather developed offshore and began moving inlandGov Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in six counties to allow state assistance in storm responseThe state deployed emergency resources and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties and the California National Guard was on standbyAtmospheric rivers transport moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes in long narrow bands of water vapour that form over an oceanThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability 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