Powerful holiday storm lashes Southern California and brings flash floods, mudslides

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 Tuesday they delivered about 380 evacuation orders to especially vulnerable homes.

San Bernardino County firefighters said Wednesday 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’s not immediately clear how many were rescued.

Firefighters were also going door to door to check on residents, and the area was under a shelter in place order, local officials said.

Debris and mud were seen cascading down a local road in a video posted by county fire officials. Another video showed fast-moving water rushing through the front porch of several homes.

A 2024 wildfire left the region with a lot of ground without tree coverage, said Janice Quick, president of the Wrightwood Chamber of Commerce who has lived in the mountain town for 45 years.

“All this rain is bringing down a lot of debris and a lot of mud from the mountain area,” she said.

Local roads, including the one leading to her ranch, were getting washed out Wednesday, she said. A tree fell Tuesday night and took out her fence, she said, and throughout the day, people in town were picking up sandbags.

Areas along the coast, including Malibu, were under flood warnings until Wednesday evening, local officials said. Much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area were also under wind and flood advisories.

Early Wednesday, the Los Angeles Fire Department rescued a man trapped in a drainage tunnel in northwest LA that led down to a river. No injuries were reported, but the man is being evaluated.

Several roadways across the regions were closed due to flooding.

Conditions could worsen as multiple atmospheric rivers move across the state during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. The storm in Los Angeles was expected to strengthen into Wednesday afternoon before tapering off later in the evening.

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

He lives on a hill, so most rain water flows away from them, he said. For now, he and his wife, Stephanie, planned on staying in the house and spending Christmas Eve with their two adult daughters and grandchildren.

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

Mike Burdick, who takes care of his elderly parents in Altadena, said he ran out to buy more sandbags Wednesday morning when he saw that the pool was already overflowing. His parents live just a block under the Eaton Fire burn scars, he said.

“I literally woke up to just downpour,” he said.

The family was prepared to evacuate with a week’s worth of essentials for the family, including for their dog and cat. They’re planning to attend a nearby holiday party in the evening.

“We’re just going to make an appearance and get back safe to our animals,” he 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, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said. It could be even more in the mountains.

Forecasters also warned that heavy snow and gusts were expected to create “near white-out conditions” in parts of the Sierra Nevada and make it “nearly impossible” to travel through the mountain passes. As of Wednesday morning, 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.

More than 125,000 people lost power as of Wednesday morning due to a damaged power pole, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

California Highway Patrol was also investigating a seemingly weather-related fatal crash Wednesday morning south of Sacramento. The driver reportedly traveled at an unsafe speed, lost control of their vehicle on the wet roads and crashed into a metal power pole, CHP Officer Michael Harper said in an email.

San Francisco and Los Angeles airports reported some minor flight delays Wednesday morning.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday also declared a state of emergency in six counties to allow state assistance in storm response.

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

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.