This week, Southern California experienced its wettest Christmas season in recent memory as intense winter storms unleashed heavy rains and strong winds. These severe weather conditions led to widespread mudslides and debris flows, leaving many homes partially filled with mud.
Although the National Weather Service forecasted a decrease in rain around Los Angeles by Friday afternoon, the threat of flash flooding and additional mudslides lingered.
“Even a small amount of rain can pose dangers on the roadways,” warned Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Los Angeles. “We’re not entirely out of danger yet, but the worst seems to have passed.”
On Thursday, Los Angeles County firefighters rescued over 100 people, with one helicopter alone extracting 21 individuals from stranded vehicles, according to officials. Additionally, the Los Angeles police responded to more than 350 traffic accidents, as reported by the mayor’s office.
Evacuation orders remained in effect for areas around burn scars in the county, extending through Friday morning.
In Wrightwood, a mountain town with a population of 5,000 located about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, residents described roads transforming into rivers. By Friday, vehicles remained submerged up to their windows in a mixture of rocks, debris, and thick mud.
Fire officials rescued several people from trapped cars earlier this week when mud and debris cascaded down a road into town. There was one injury reported.
The system brought the wettest Christmas season to downtown Los Angeles in 54 years, the National Weather Service said. The area recorded 3 inches of rain in three days, while the mountain areas saw up to 12 inches, Wofford said.
Forecasters expected a dry weekend before more rains were forecast to come next week around New Year’s Eve.
Waves near the San Francisco Bay Area could reach up to 25 feet Friday, and many parts of northern California remained under a flood watch through Friday.
More wind and as much as 2 inches of snowfall an hour was expected in the Sierra Nevada, making mountain pass travel treacherous. Avalanche risk around Lake Tahoe on Friday was downgraded, per Sierra Avalanche Center.
A falling tree killed a San Diego man Wednesday, news outlets reported. Farther north, a Sacramento sheriff’s deputy died in what appeared to be a weather-related crash.
A 70-year-old woman was killed in Mendocino, California Monday after being swept away by a large wave and a 74-year-old man was killed in Redding, California after being swept away by flood waters Sunday.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared emergencies in six counties to allow state assistance.
The state deployed resources and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties, and the California National Guard was on standby.
Associated Press writers Trn Nguyn in Sacramento, California, and Sophie Austin in Oakland, California, and ABC News contributed.
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