A powerful winter storm swept through California on Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds, prompting evacuation warnings for mudslides in parts of the southern part of the state, dumping white snow in the mountains and risking travel for millions of holiday drivers.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in several counties, including Los Angeles.
“With weather conditions, heavy rains and strong winds ahead, I am declaring a state of emergency in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Shasta counties to activate emergency powers and stockpile resources to keep our communities safe,” Newsom said. In a post on X.
Forecasters said Southern California could see the rainiest Christmas in years and warned of flash floods. Areas burned by wildfires in January were under evacuation warnings, and Los Angeles County officials said Tuesday they would go door-to-door to about 380 homes that were particularly at risk, ordering residents to evacuate because of the risk of landslides and debris flows.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department also issued an evacuation warning Wednesday morning for the community of Wrightwood, a mountain resort in the San Gabriel Mountains about 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Los Angeles, due to possible mud and debris flows from the storm.
A flow of debris and mud was seen hurtling down the road leading to Wrightwood in a social media video posted by county fire officials. The post added that crews are working to evacuate some homes. County officials did not immediately respond to questions about the eviction.
Areas along the coast, including Malibu, were under flood warnings on Wednesday, local officials said. Parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties are also bracing for possible flooding. Other parts of Southern California were under wind and flood warnings. To the north, much of the Sacramento Valley and San Francisco Bay Area were under a flood watch and high wind warning.
Early Wednesday morning, the Los Angeles Fire Department rescued a man trapped in a northwest Los Angeles drainage tunnel that led to a river.
Firefighters were able to lower a ladder through an opening, allowing the man to climb out, the fire department said. No injuries were reported, but the man is being evaluated.
In Monterey along the Central Coast, more than 5,000 people were without power Tuesday night due to a damaged utility pole, according to Pacific Gas & Electric.
San Francisco and Los Angeles airports reported some minor flight delays Wednesday morning.
Conditions could worsen as multiple weather rivers move across the state during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. The storm is expected to strengthen in Los Angeles through Wednesday afternoon before subsiding later in the evening.
James Dangerfield, an 84-year-old Altadena resident, said his family and a neighbor helped place sandbags in his backyard earlier this week. His neighborhood was under a flash flood warning as of Wednesday morning, but he wasn’t too worried.
He added that the street he lives on is on a hill, so most of the rainwater flows away from his house. For now, he and his wife, Stephanie, plan to stay home and spend Christmas Eve with their two adult daughters and grandchildren.
“We will stay where we are and everyone will have to come to us,” he said. “We will not go anywhere.”
Southern California usually gets between 1.3 and 2.5 centimeters of rain this time of year, but many areas this week could see 10 to 20 centimeters, said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. It can be more in the mountains. Wind speeds can reach 60-80 mph (97-128 km/h) in parts of the Central Coast.
Forecasters also warned that heavy snow and storms were expected to create “near whiteout conditions” in parts of the Sierra Nevada and make it “almost impossible” to travel through mountain passes. As of Wednesday morning, there was also a “significant” avalanche risk around Lake Tahoe, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center, a nonprofit partnership with the U.S. Forest Service.
The National Weather Service said a winter storm warning will be in effect for the greater Tahoe area through Friday morning.
Atmospheric rivers transport moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes in long, narrow bands of water vapor that form over the ocean and flow across the sky.
Officials have taken steps to reduce risks in and around burn scars, with Los Angeles County installing K barriers, a type of barrier to help catch sliding debris from burned areas, as well as offering free sandbags to residents.
The storm has already caused damage in Northern California, where flash flooding led to water rescues and at least one death, authorities said.
The state has deployed emergency resources and first responders to several coastal counties and Southern California, and the California National Guard remains on standby.