Powerful storm lashes Southern California, threatens mudslides

LOS ANGELES — A powerful winter storm swept across Southern California on Wednesday, with heavy rain threatening mudslides and debris flows in areas burned by wildfires, leading to near-white snow conditions in the mountains and dangerous travel for millions of vacationing drivers.

Forecasters said Southern California could experience its wettest Christmas in years and warned of flash flooding. Areas ravaged by January’s wildfires were under evacuation warnings, and Los Angeles County officials said Tuesday they were going door to door at about 380 particularly vulnerable homes, ordering residents to evacuate because of the risk of landslides and debris flows.

Areas along the coast, including Malibu, were under flood warnings Wednesday, local authorities said. Parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties were also monitoring possible flooding. Other areas of Southern California were under wind and flood advisories. Farther north, much of the Sacramento Valley and San Francisco Bay area were under flood watches and high wind warnings.

Minor road flooding and downed trees were reported across the state Wednesday.

Early Wednesday morning, Los Angeles firefighters rescued a man trapped in a drainage tunnel in northwest Los Angeles that led to a river.

Firefighters were able to lower a ladder through an opening, allowing the man to get out, firefighters said. No injuries were reported, but the man is being evaluated.

In Monterey, along the Central Coast, more than 5,000 people lost power Tuesday night due to a damaged power pole, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

Conditions could worsen as several atmospheric rivers pass through the state during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. The storm in Los Angeles is expected to intensify Wednesday afternoon before easing later in the evening.

“If you are planning to hit the road during the Christmas holiday, please reconsider your plans,” said Ariel Cohen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Los Angeles.

Forecasters warned that heavy snow and gusts were expected to create “near whiteout conditions” in parts of the Sierra Nevada on Wednesday and make crossing mountain passes “nearly impossible.”

James Dangerfield, an 84-year-old Altadena resident, said his family and neighbor helped place sandbags in his yard earlier this week. His neighborhood was under a flash flood warning Wednesday morning, but he wasn’t too worried.

The street he lives on is on a hill, so most of the rainwater runs away from them, he said. For now, he and his wife, Stephanie, planned to stay home and spend Christmas Eve with their two adult daughters and grandchildren.

“We’re just going to stay put and everyone will have to come to us. We’re not going anywhere,” he said.

Southern California typically gets between 1.3 and 2.5 centimeters of rain this time of year, but this week many areas could see between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters), said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. It could be even more in the mountains. Gusts could reach 60 to 80 mph (97 to 128 km/h) in parts of the central coast.

Atmospheric rivers carry moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes in the form of long, narrow bands of water vapor that form over an ocean and flow into the sky.

Officials have taken steps to reduce the risk in and around burn scars, with Los Angeles County installing K-rails, a type of barrier to help catch slippery debris from burn areas, and also offering free sandbags to residents.

The storm has already caused damage in Northern California, where flash flooding led to water rescues and at least one death, authorities said.

The state has deployed emergency resources and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties, and the California National Guard remains on standby.