LOS ANGELES — A powerful winter storm swept across California on Wednesday, with heavy rains and gusty winds bringing mudslides and debris flows that has led to some water rescues and evacuation orders.
Forecasters said Southern California could see its wettest Christmas in years and warned about flash flooding and mudslides. Areas scorched by January’s wildfires were under evacuation warnings, and Los Angeles County officials said the previous day that they delivered about 380 evacuation orders to especially vulnerable homes.
San 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 northeast of Los Angeles. It was not immediately clear how many were rescued.
Firefighters also went door to door to check on residents, and the area was under a shelter-in-place order, officials said. Lytle Creek, also in the San Gabriel Mountains, was under evacuation orders in the afternoon as rains continued to pummel the area.
Debris and mud were seen cascading down a road in Wrightwood in a video posted by county fire officials. Another video showed fast-moving water rushing through the front porch of several homes.
The storm stranded Dillan Brown with his wife and 14-month-old 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 said.
“I came across [a road] where there was a car sucked away by the water and realized we were trapped here,” he said.
A resident learned of his situation and posted a call for help in a Facebook group, and in less than an hour, neighbors showed up with more than enough supplies to ride out the storm, including bread, vegetables, milk, diapers and wipes.
“I think we’re a little sad and upset that we’re not going to be home with our families,” Brown said, but the “kindness shown is definitely an overwhelming feeling.”
Janice 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 area.”
Residents around the burn scar zones from the Airport Fire in Orange County were also ordered to evacuate.
Areas 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 advisories.
Heavy rain douses Southern California
The Los Angeles Fire Department rescued a man trapped in a drainage tunnel in northwest LA. No injuries were reported, but the man was being evaluated.
Several roadways including a part of Interstate 5 near the Burbank Airport were closed due to flooding.
Conditions could worsen with multiple atmospheric rivers during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. The storm in Los Angeles was expected to strengthen into the afternoon before tapering off later in the evening.
James Dangerfield, an 84-year-old resident of Altadena, said his family and neighbor helped place sandbags in his backyard earlier this week. A flash flood warning was issued for the neighborhood, but he wasn’t too worried because his house is on a hill.
He and his wife, Stephanie, planned to remain there and spend Christmas Eve with their two adult daughters and grandchildren.
“We’re just going to stay put, and everybody will have to come to us,” Dangerfield said. “We’re not going to go anywhere.”
Mike 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 overflowing.
“I literally woke up to just downpour,” he said.
The family was prepared to evacuate with a week’s worth of essentials including for their dog and cat. They planned to attend a nearby holiday party in the evening.
“We’re just going to make an appearance and get back safe to our animals,” Burdick said.
Southern California typically gets half an inch to 1 inch of rain this time of year, but this week many areas could see between 4 and 8 inches with even more in the mountains, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said.
Much of California under weather warnings
Forecasters said heavy snow and gusts were expected to create “near white-out 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 Center.
The National Weather Service said a winter storm warning would be in effect for the greater Tahoe region until Friday morning.
Power was knocked out to more than 125,000 due to a damaged power pole, according to the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. utility.
The California Highway Patrol was investigating a seemingly weather-related fatal crash south of Sacramento. A driver who was apparently traveling at an unsafe speed lost control on a wet road and crashed into a power pole, Officer Michael Harper said via email.
San Francisco and Los Angeles airports reported some minor morning flight delays.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in six counties to allow state assistance in storm response.
Flash flooding in Northern California has led to water rescues and at least one death, authorities said.
The state deployed emergency resources and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties, and the California National Guard was on standby.
Atmospheric rivers transport moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes in long, narrow bands of water vapor that form over an ocean.
