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 years to the southern part of the state.
As much as 12 inches of rain fell in the area on 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 fewer than 5,000 people about 80 miles (130km) northeast of Los Angeles; The images showed mud and debris surrounding houses and vehicles. San Bernardino County Fire Department stated on Thursday night It was stated that one person was injured in the slide, but weather conditions were expected to improve and there was no ongoing security threat.
The town remained under an evacuation warning Friday morning and some surrounding roads were closed, according to the county’s emergency services system.
The storms, the result of atmospheric rivers carrying clouds of moisture from the tropics, occurred during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. The enormous rainfalls were also a sharp change from last winter. an extremely dry year created conditions for devastating wildfires to rapidly spread across 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 died since the storms began earlier this week. A driver who was trapped in his vehicle during a flood in Redding, Northern California, died. Further south, a Sacramento sheriff’s deputy dead in what appeared to be a weather-related accident. And a man in San Diego reportedly killed next to a fallen tree.
In Wrightwood, the storm knocked out power, leaving a gas station and coffee shop powered by generators to serve as a hub for residents and visitors.
“It’s a really crazy Christmas,” said Jill Jenkins, who spent the holiday with her 13-year-old grandson, Hunter Lopiccolo.
Lopiccolo said the family was nearly evacuated the day before when water flooded a large portion of their backyard, but they decided to stay and celebrated the holiday anyway. Lopiccolo bought a new snowboard and e-bike.
“We played card games with candles and lanterns all night long,” he said.
Davey Schneider walked a mile and a half (2.4 km) up to his shin through rain and floodwater from his Wrightwood home on Wednesday to rescue cats from his grandfather’s house.
“I wanted to help them because I wasn’t sure if they were going to live,” Schneider said Thursday. “Luckily they all survived. They’re all fine, just a little scared.”
Arlene Corte said the roads in the town turned into a river, but her home was not damaged.
“It could be a lot worse,” he said. “We’re talking here.”
San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesman Shawn Millerick said more than 150 firefighters were deployed to the area as the rain increased.
“We are ready,” he said. “Everything is ready at this point.”
Areas along the coast, including Malibu, were under a flood watch until Friday afternoon, and wind and flood warnings were issued for much of the Sacramento valley and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Southern California typically gets half an inch to 1 inch (1.3-2.5 cm) of rain this time of year, but many areas could see 4 to 8 inches of rain this week, with even more in the mountains, said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford.
More wind and heavy snow were expected in the Sierra Nevada, where winds created “near whiteout conditions” and made mountain pass travel treacherous.
Governor Gavin Newsom declared an emergency in six counties to allow state aid.
The state deployed resources and first responders to many coastal and southern California counties, and the California national guard was also on standby.
