California Christmas Storm Brings Rescues, Mudslides and a State of Emergency

A powerful winter storm soaked Southern California over the holiday, forcing rescues and evacuations in fire-scarred mountain communities, and forecasters said more rain was on the way, CBS News and NBC News reported.

Record rainfall hit Southern California on Christmas Eve, NBC News reported. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Wednesday. In Wrightwood, a mountain community in San Bernardino County northeast of Los Angeles, flooding and mudslides trapped people, and “at least dozens” were rescued overnight, county fire spokesman Christopher Prater told NBC News. More than 120 emergency responders worked through the night on rescues and damage assessments. Prater said there were no reported deaths in the area, though one child was taken to a hospital with a minor injury.

CBS News reported that firefighters rescued people trapped in cars Wednesday when mud and debris poured down a road into Wrightwood, and that firefighters went door to door as the area was placed under a shelter-in-place order. Some houses were inundated. “I’ve never seen rain last this long,” the Wrightwood Chamber of Commerce president said, according to CBS News. An evacuation order was also issued for Lytle Creek in the San Gabriel Mountains.

Burn scars are a central concern. CBS News said many flood-prone areas were stripped of vegetation by fires and are less able to absorb water, and that areas scorched by January’s wildfires received evacuation warnings. A CBS News crew saw a mudslide early Thursday in Altadena, a community hit hard by those fires. The network said two deaths in the state may be related to the severe weather, according to authorities.

The storm also disrupted power and travel. NBC News reported that more than 100,000 customers in California were without power Thursday afternoon. CBS News said a flood watch remained in effect through Friday along the coast from the Oregon border to Los Angeles and in central California, and a CBS News weather producer said additional downpours could add 2 to 5 inches of rain. Forecasters said Southern California could see its wettest Christmas in years and warned of flash flooding and mudslides, CBS News reported.

NBC News said conditions could get worse until the region begins to dry out this weekend. A second system was expected to bring more showers and possible thunderstorms on Christmas Day, according to CBS News.