LOS ANGELES—A powerful winter storm swept across California on Wednesday, with heavy rain and gusty winds leading to evacuation warnings for mudslides in the south, bringing near white-out snow conditions in the mountains and hazardous travel for millions of holiday drivers.
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 were going door to door to about 380 especially vulnerable homes to order residents to evacuate.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department also issued an evacuation warning Wednesday morning for the community of Wrightwood, a mountain resort town in the San Gabriel Mountains about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, due to potential mud and debris flows from the storm.
Debris and mud were seen rushing down the road leading into Wrightwood in a social media video posted by county fire officials. Crews were working to evacuate some homes, the post said. County officials didn’t immediately return questions about the evacuation.
Areas along the coast, including Malibu, were under flood warnings Wednesday, local officials said. Much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area were also under wind and flood advisories.
Heavy Rain Douses Southern California
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 (1.3 to 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), National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said. It could be even more in the mountains.
By Jaimie Ding, Dorany Pineda, and Tran Nguyen of The Associated Press
