A strong Christmas Eve storm marked by dangerously strong wind gusts drenched Southern California on Wednesday, leading to street flooding, evacuation warnings and the looming possibilities of mudslides and dangerous debris flows in areas scarred by recent wildfires. Traffic at the start of a busy holiday travel period was treacherous at best across the region, with more wet weather in the forecast.
The storm landed first over Los Angeles County early Wednesday and pushed into Orange County and the Inland Empire as the day progressed, according to meteorologists with the National Weather Service.
The LA Fire Department issued an evacuation order for the Riverwood community in the Sunland area.
In the San Fernando Valley, a stretch of the 5 Freeway in Sun Valley was closed by flooding near Lankershim Boulevard, Caltrans said Wednesday afternoon. By 7:45 p.m., southbound lanes there were open but the northbound freeway remained closed.
To the south, Topanga Canyon Boulevard (State Route 27), was closed from PCH to Grand View Drive because of debris flows.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department also issued an evacuation warning for Wrightwood due to potential mud and debris flows from the storm, and crews were working to rescue some residents. Some residents were ordered to shelter in place due to the threat. Debris and mud were seen rushing down the road leading into Wrightwood in a social media video posted by county fire officials.
A shelter for affected residents opened at the Victorville Fairgrounds.
Later in the day, the department issued a shelter in place order for Lytle Creek, about 32 miles southeast of Wrightwood.
Another evacuation order was issued for the communities north of Highway 2, to Palmdale Road west of Sheep Creek Road to the Los Angeles County line.
LA County was under a flood watch until Friday at 4 p.m.
Powerful wind gusts reached 40 to 70 mph in the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains, according to the NWS. One wind gust in the Western San Gabriel mountains reached 98 miles per hour. LA’s coastal and valley areas experienced 20 to 40 mph wind gusts.
“We had those real strong and powerful winds and so some areas had issues with tree limbs down, trees down, power outages, that sort of thing across the area. So not only the rain, but the wind kind of exacerbated the whole situation,” said NWS meteorologist Joe Sirard.
Forecasters issued a tornado warning for the Alhambra area and was quickly cancelled but officials warned that powerful winds are still likely. A “severe thunderstorm warning” remained in effect.
Rainfall totals were matching weather forecasters’ expectations so far. Here’s how much rain the south land had received a day into the storm, according to the NWS:
LA County
- San Gabriel mountains: 5-7 inches
- The San Gabriel Valley: 1.5-2 inches
- San Fernando Valley: 3-4 inches
- Santa Monica mountains: 2-4 inches
- La Cañada foothills: 2-3 inches
Orange County:
- Dana Point: .10 of an inch
- Huntington Beach: .5 of an inch
- Laguna Beach: .14 of an inch
- Santa Ana mountains: .25 of an inch
Inland Empire:
- Riverside: .10-.20 of an inch
- Chino: .16 of an inch
- Big Bear Lake: .31 of an inch
- Cajon Pass: .69 of an inch
- San Bernardino: .25-.5 an inch
- San Bernardino mountains: .25-.5 an inch
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency for LA, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Shasta counties in anticipation of the storm’s potential impacts. This declaration allows state agencies to pre-deploy emergency response resources like additional fire personnel and fire engines.
The Los Angeles Fire Department rescued a man who had gotten trapped in a drainage tunnel near the Corbin Street bridge in Winnetka. The tunnel leads to the Los Angeles River, but the man was trapped by a screen. Firefighters lowered a ladder into an opening, and the man climbed out. He was not injured, the Fire Department said.
In Orange County, a downed tree in Laguna Beach led to the closure of Coast Highway between Legion Street and Cleo Street for at least an hour, according to a Laguna Beach Police Department social media post. Caltrans later said PCH was closed due to flooding in Huntington Beach between Warner Avenue and Seapoint Street.
San Bernardino County Fire spokesman Chris Prater said that in addition to those in Wrightwood, the department has made swift water rescues in Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley and Adelanto. He did not know the circumstances of each.
At one point on Wednesday, Highway 138 was closed between the 15 Freeway in the Cajon Pass and Beekley Road to the west, Caltrans said. Northbound traffic on the 15 was being required to exit at the 138 and re-enter the freeway because of mud on the 15 at the 138 overpass.
Heavy rain was expected to affect the Yucaipa-Oak Glen area, said Chloe Castillo, a spokeswoman for the Cal Fire San Bernardino Unit. The creek that runs past the Oak Glen Steakhouse tends to overflow during heavy rain.
Mount Baldy Road at Shinn Road was closed due to landslides and mudslides, the California Highway Patrol said.
Shane Reichardt, a spokesman for the Riverside County Emergency Management Department, said officials were watching the Airport Fire burn scar off Ortega Highway.
He said the expected rainfall rate of seven-tenths of an inch per hour had not reached the threshold of eight-tenths that would trigger warnings to be sent out. That area has held up well during heavy rain, Reichardt said. Officials did send out alerts to wireless phones in the areas where people live in rivers, urging them to move to higher ground.
Conditions could worsen as multiple atmospheric rivers move across California on one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
