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Southern California is headed for Thursday with another powerful storm that could cause widespread flooding and mudslides, a day after heavy rain and strong winds are blamed for at least two deaths.
Forecasters said the region could see its wettest Christmas in years, increasing the risk of debris flows in areas ravaged by wildfires in January. Those areas of burn scars are de-vegetated by fire and cannot absorb water.
On Wednesday, a falling tree killed a San Diego man, local media reported. Farther north, a Sacramento sheriff’s deputy died in what appeared to be a weather-related accident.
San Bernardino County firefighters said they rescued people who were trapped in vehicles when mud and debris rushed the road into Wrightwood, a resort town in the San Gabriel Mountains about 130 kilometers northeast of Los Angeles. It was not clear how many were rescued.
Firefighters also went door-to-door checking homes and the area was under a shelter-in-place order, officials said. An evacuation order was issued for Lytle Creek, also in the San Gabriel Mountains.
Travis Guenther and his family are stranded on Lytle Creek after raging waters washed away the only bridge in or out of their property.
Everyone who went to work this morning is stuck. Half of the families are here and half of the families are across the river.– Travis Guenther
More than a dozen neighbors have taken shelter in a community center or found hotel rooms.
“All those who went to work in the morning are stuck,” he said. “Part of the families are here and part of the families are across the river.”
Guenther said he had a lot of property and was working with others in the community of about 280 people. Two nurses who live on her street volunteer to help anyone who may need medical help.
Small trees found in a city hit by wildfire
Janice Quick, president of the Wrightwood Chamber of Commerce and a resident of the mountain town for 45 years, said the 2024 wildfires left much of the land bare.
The storm also left Dillan Brown, his wife and 14-month-old daughter stranded in a rental home in Wrightwood without enough food and diapers for nearly another day. The roads leading from the mountain to the store are blocked with rocks and debris, Brown said.
A resident posted a call for help on a Facebook group. In less than an hour, neighbors came up with more than enough supplies to weather the storm, including bread, vegetables, milk, diapers and wipes.
(Pamela Hassell/The Associated Press)
“I think we’re sad and upset that we’re not going to be home with our families,” Brown said, but “the kindness that’s been shown is definitely a great feeling.”
Residents near the burn scars from the Orange County Airport Fire were also ordered to evacuate.
Coastal areas, including Malibu, were under a flood watch until Friday afternoon, and wind and flood advisories were issued for much of the Sacramento Valley and San Francisco Bay.
Several roads including a portion of Interstate 5 near the Burbank Airport are closed due to flooding.
These storms were the result of several atmospheric rivers carrying large amounts of moisture from the tropics during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.
Southern California usually gets 1.3 to 2.5 inches of rain this time of year, but this week, many areas could see between 10 and 20 inches, even more in the mountains, said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford.
Snow at high altitudes
Heavy snow and ice created “near whiteout conditions” in parts of the Sierra Nevada and made hiking tricky. Officials said there was a high risk of snowmelt in Lake Tahoe, and a winter storm warning was in effect until Friday morning.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in six states to allow for government assistance in responding to the storm.
The state dispatched emergency services and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties, and the California National Guard was on standby.
(Wally Skalij/The Associated Press)
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) reported an apparent weather-related crash south of Sacramento that killed a Sacramento sheriff’s deputy.
James Caravallo, who has been with the facility for 19 years, was traveling at an unsafe speed, lost control on a wet road and hit a utility pole, CHP Chief Michael Harper said in an email.
