Los Angeles: A powerful winter storm swept across California on Wednesday, with heavy rains and gusty winds bringing mudslides and debris flows that have led to some water rescues and evacuation orders.
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 the previous day that they delivered about 380 evacuation orders to especially vulnerable homes.
San Bernardino County firefighters said they rescued people trapped in their cars when mud and debris rushed down a road leading into Wrightwood, a mountain resort town in the San Gabriel Mountains about 80 miles (130 kilometres) northeast of Los Angeles. It was not immediately clear how many
were rescued.
Firefighters also went door to door to check on residents, and the area was under a shelter-in-place order, officials said. Lytle Creek, also in the San Gabriel Mountains, was under evacuation orders in the afternoon as rains continued to pummel the area.
Debris and mud were seen cascading down a road in Wrightwood in a video posted by county fire officials. Another video showed fast-moving water rushing through the front porch of several homes.