Record rainfall doused Southern California on Christmas Eve, forcing evacuations and leaving some residents in need of rescue amid rising waters.
“At least dozens” of people were rescued overnight amid flooding and mudslides in Wrightwood, California, a community nestled in the San Gabriel Mountains, northeast of Los Angeles, said Christopher Prater, a public information officer for the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
There were no reported deaths in the area, but one child had to be taken to the hospital for a minor injury, Prater said.
More than 120 emergency responders worked overnight to rescue people and perform damage assessments, Prater said. Video shared by the county showed mud and floodwaters rushing past cabins in a pine forest.
“It was pretty dynamic,” Prater said on Thursday, adding that officials were still tallying up the number of people rescued. “We still have crews out there. They’re providing life-safety first and trying to divert the water and mud and debris flows as best we can to help properties.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Wednesday as the deluge pummeled Southern California. The situation could get worse until the region begins to dry out this weekend.
More than 100,000 customers in California had no power on Thursday afternoon.
The National Weather Service said daily rainfall records for Christmas Eve were broken at Los Angeles International Airport, Hollywood Burbank Airport, in Oxnard, and Woodland Hills, among other locations. As much as 10 inches of rain fell in parts of the foothills near Los Angeles.
Forecasters are expecting two more bouts of rainfall, with heavy showers and a chance of thunderstorms, through Friday.
“The potential for flooding will be high during this period,” forecasters wrote on Thursday. “Any rainfall that occurs will immediately turn to run off.”
Videos from Los Angeles showed highways flooded with water, mud and debris, as well as water pouring off of commercial buildings.
The severe weather resulted in at least two deaths on Wednesday.
A San Diego man in his 60s or 70s died after going into cardiac arrest when a tree splintered and a large branch fell on him, NBC San Diego reported.
The man, Roberto Ruiz, was planning to celebrate Christmas Eve with family at his house, according to Zenaida Rodriguez, who identified herself as the victim’s daughter-in-law. She said Ruiz had gone outside to move his car when he was hit by the branch.
“This is a father, a grandpa — my son’s two-and-a-half, my daughter’s 15,” Rodriguez told NBC San Diego. “How do you go home on Christmas Eve and tell your kids that their grandpa’s dead?”
And in Sacramento County, sheriff’s deputy James Caravallo died in what appeared to be a weather-related crash while driving to work, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
“Deputy Caravallo was a dedicated employee who proudly served our agency for 19 years,” the office wrote in an X post.
On Thursday, the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center warned of a moderate risk of excessive rainfall over parts of Southern California from Christmas into Friday morning, with flash flooding possible. A slight risk of excessive rainfall was expected to develop over the northern and central regions of California as well as parts of southern Nevada on Thursday.
Though the rain is expected to weaken on Thursday, residual flooding is likely to continue into the night, with an ongoing threat of rockslides and mudslides. Flash flooding is a particular risk in urban areas, near small streams and in regions burned in previous fires.
The storms caused lane and highway closures in Los Angeles and Ventura counties on Wednesday, and the lanes on northbound I-5 at Lankershim Boulevard were temporarily blocked by debris. In Northern California early Thursday morning, the state’s Department of Transportation closed State Route 99 from Garden Brook Drive to Keefer Road due to flooding.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, the NWS expects snow to develop over parts of the Northeast on Thursday and continue into Saturday afternoon.
Parts of Pennsylvania were under an ice storm warning from Friday morning through Saturday morning. The NWS also placed portions of southern Connecticut, northeast New Jersey and southeast New York under a winter storm warning, with as much as 8 inches of snow expected there from Friday afternoon through Saturday. Forecasters were expecting 7 inches of snow in New York City.
“An icy wintry mix of freezing rain and sleet will cause hazardous travel conditions from Michigan eastward across much of Pennsylvania and into the Mid-Atlantic,” the NWS said.
