Intense California storm brings flash floods and mudslides, forcing evacuations

By Tim Arango, Pooja Salhotra, Orlando Mayorquín and Alexander Nazaryan

An intense winter storm drenched Southern California on Wednesday, triggering flash floods, mudslides and debris flows, and forcing residents to evacuate in parts of the Los Angeles region.

The storm is part of a weather system that could bring record rainfall over the holidays. Much of Southern California — including Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles — was under a flash flood warning for most of the day. But forecasters later downgraded the warning to a flash flood advisory for parts of the southwestern region of the state, which is in effect through 6 a.m. Pacific time Thursday.

On Wednesday, fire crews were evacuating homes in San Bernardino County, and rushing debris flows shut down Highway 2 in the area east of Los Angeles. Heavy rains also flooded portions of Interstate 5 in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, prompting officials to close northbound lanes. There were water rescues in at least two counties, Los Angeles and San Bernardino, and reports of mudslides and rock slides in the Los Angeles area.

In Wrightwood, a ski resort town of about 5,000 in the mountains of San Bernardino County, crews were going door to door to evacuate people from homes and vehicles, as the rain and debris flow overwhelmed roadways. The entire town was under a shelter-in-place warning, and Christopher Prater, a spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Fire Department, said the agency had received dozens of rescue calls starting at 7:30 a.m.

“Our primary function right now is life safety,” he said.

The heavy rain has raised concern among officials about disastrous mudslides and even worse flooding, particularly in places where the ground is still scarred from wildfires in January.

“I am urging all Angelenos to stay safe and be extremely careful on the roads if you absolutely must travel,” Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles said in a statement Wednesday. “Please do not take this storm lightly.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in six counties, including Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego. The National Weather Service reported 6 to 8 inches of rain and flash flooding in San Diego as of Wednesday afternoon, with more rain expected.

The heavy rains are coming from a series of atmospheric rivers, or large plumes of moisture in the sky, that have been flowing over California. Climate change is also a factor: Rainstorms and flooding are becoming more common because of global warming.