Southern California dodges worst of mudslide fears as heavy rains hit region
The storm system largely moved out of metro Los Angeles late Thursday, prompting officials to lift flood warnings, according to the National Weather Service. While the storm's departure marked an easing of immediate threats, concerns linger over the potential for mudslides and rockslides, which can occur long after rainfall has ended.
Here are the latest developments:
As the storm's intensity peaked Thursday, flash flood warnings were issued for areas including Malibu and Pacific Palisades, which were heavily impacted by last month's Palisades fire. Rain inundated some roadways and caused localized street flooding but largely avoided the extensive destruction that officials had feared in wildfire-scarred areas, where scorched soil can repel water, triggering fast-moving mudslides that gather debris as they surge downhill.
Isolated rock and mudslides were reported around Malibu Thursday. A large debris flow in the Hollywood Hills 'deposited approximately 8 inches of mud across Mulholland Dr., making passage impossible,' the Los Angeles Fire Department said. Parts of the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco were earlier affected by mudslides as rain pushed across the state.
Evacuation orders for select residences near burn scar areas from the Palisades, Sunset and Hurst Fires remain through Friday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Santa Cruz County lifted their evacuation orders Thursday, as did parts of the Lake Fire burn scar area in Santa Barbara County.
At least 16,000 customers in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties were left without power as of early Friday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.
Drier weather is in the forecast around Los Angeles Friday, with occasional showers in the early morning hours. A flood watch is in effect through Friday morning for parts of Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties as the system moves east.
While significant devastation from the storm was avoided, the rains and subsequent flows resulted in damaged vehicles and buildings.
In Altadena, which was impacted by the Eaton fire, some vehicles were mired in thick mud as crews scrambled to dig them out.
In Sierra Madre, also near the Eaton burn scar, mud cascaded down roads at the bottom of hillsides, overtaking cars and leaving residents scrambling to help one another. Exhausted neighbors worked tirelessly to clear debris, some still living out of packed bags from the last evacuation before facing another order.
'It's a resilient community,' Francisco Martinez, a local resident, told CNN affiliate KCAL/KCBS. 'The debris flow, the mud … I've never seen it like this.'
In Malibu, a Los Angeles Fire Department member sustained minor injuries after his vehicle was swept into the ocean by a large debris flow, LAFD spokesperson Erik Scott said on social media. Video shows a vehicle partially submerged in the ocean after being pushed off an embankment.
The incident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday along Big Rock Road, located off the Pacific Coast Highway. The member managed to escape and was transported to a hospital as a precaution, Scott said.
Significant debris flows were reported near well-known Duke's restaurant in Malibu, located off the Pacific Coast Highway. While the oceanfront restaurant escaped damage from the recent wildfire, backhoes were seen scraping mud off the streets nearby Thursday night.
In Los Angeles County's San Gabriel Valley, a portion of the roof of a Smart & Final grocery store in Azusa collapsed Thursday, according to KCAL/KCBS. No injuries were reported.
Al Hernandez, who was at the scene, described hearing a loud 'boom' before the roof buckled. 'It was crazy,' he told the news outlet. 'People were screaming and running, it was just madness.'
CNN's Joe Sutton, Taylor Romine, Nouran Salahieh, Isaac Yee and Chimaine Pouteau contributed to this report.
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