Mudslides bury cars and homes up to their windows in California town | California
Mudslides buried cars and homes up to their windows in a California mountain town as a powerful storm system brought the wettest Christmas in decades to the state’s south.
Up to 12 inches of rain fell in the area Wednesday, causing flooding and washing out roads, according to the National Weather Service.
Local authorities issued an evacuation warning for Wrightwood, California, a town of just under 5,000 people about 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Los Angeles, as images showed mud and debris engulfing homes and vehicles. San Bernardino County firefighters said Thursday evening that one person was injured in the slide, but that weather conditions were expected to improve and there was no continuing threat to safety.
The city remained under an evacuation warning Friday morning and some surrounding roads were closed, according to the county emergency services system.
The storms, resulting from atmospheric rivers carrying plumes of moisture from the tropics, struck during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. The immense rainfall is also a stark change from last winter, when an extremely dry year created conditions for devastating wildfires to spread rapidly throughout the region.
The system brought the wettest Christmas season to downtown Los Angeles in 54 years, the National Weather Service said.
At least three people have been killed since the storms began earlier this week. A motorist was killed in Redding, northern California, after being trapped in his vehicle during flooding. Further south, a Sacramento sheriff’s deputy died in what appears to be a weather-related accident. And in San Diego, a man was reportedly killed by a falling tree.
In Wrightwood, the storm knocked out power and left a gas station and cafe running on generators to serve as a hub for residents and visitors.
“It’s definitely a crazy Christmas,” said Jill Jenkins, who was spending the holiday with her 13-year-old grandson, Hunter Lopiccolo.
Lopiccolo said the family was almost evacuated the day before, when water washed away part of their garden, but they decided to stay and celebrated the holiday anyway. Lopiccolo received a new snowboard and an electric bike.
“We played cards all night with candles and flashlights,” he said.
Davey Schneider walked 1.5 miles through shin-deep rain and floodwaters from his Wrightwood home Wednesday to save the cats at his grandfather’s house.
“I wanted to help them because I wasn’t sure they were going to live,” Schneider said Thursday. “Luckily, they all survived. They’re all okay, just a little scared.”
Arlene Corte said the city’s roads turned into rivers, but her house was not damaged.
“It could be a lot worse,” she said. “We are here to talk.”
With more rain coming, more than 150 firefighters were stationed in the area, said Shawn Millerick, a spokesman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
“We are ready,” he said. “It’s all hands on deck at this point.”
Areas along the coast, including Malibu, were under a flood watch through Friday afternoon, and wind and flood advisories were issued for much of the Sacramento Valley and San Francisco Bay area.
Southern California typically gets between 0.5 and 1 inches of rain this time of year, but this week many areas could see between 4 and 8 inches, and even more in the mountains, said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford.
More wind and heavy snow were expected in the Sierra Nevada, where gusts created “near whiteout conditions” and made travel through mountain passes dangerous.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in six counties to allow for state assistance.
The state deployed resources and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties, and the California National Guard was on standby.
