A record-setting Christmas storm battering Southern California brought rushing floods that have already killed at least three people across the state, including a sheriff’s deputy who lost control of his vehicle on a rain-slicked roadway.
Water and debris, along with mudslides, have led to evacuation orders and water rescues as the deluge slams regions still recovering from wildfires earlier this year.
Officials said the deaths occurred across multiple counties as the massive storm system battered the Golden State with torrential rain, violent winds and dangerous surf.
The storm began on Christmas eve with flash floods and mudslides. Amy Katz/ZUMA / SplashNews.com
Those killed were identified as Roberto Ruiz, 64, of San Diego, who was struck by a falling tree or large branch during high winds; Sacramento Sheriff’s Deputy James Caravallo, who died in a storm-related crash after his vehicle lost control on a wet road; and Richard Michael Wilsey, 74, who drowned after floodwaters overtook his vehicle in Redding, according to local reports.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared an emergency as of Wednesday, including flash flood warnings and evacuation orders.
Road closures reported by the LA County Sheriff have triggered travel delays across the region.
Officials reported that 380 homes were evacuated. AP
Gov. Gavin Newsom also declared a state of emergency in six counties — Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Shasta — as the storm spread destruction across much of the state.
The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department issued evacuation orders for communities up until the Los Angeles county line on Wednesday evening, as the area is slammed with mudslides and rushing water, worsened by the burn scars from earlier wildfires.
Evacuation orders were also issued for the Palisades, Sunset, Hurst, and Ridgewood areas, with the LAPD personally knocking on doors of vulnerable homes.
Officials told The Associated Press that 380 homes were given evacuation orders.
Regions burned in the wildfires earlier this year were hardest hit. AP
Additional evacuations and shelter-in-place orders were issued in mountain and canyon communities, including Wrightwood, Lytle Creek and Altadena, where officials warned that saturated ground near burn scars could unleash fast-moving debris flows.
As of Christmas morning, the sky has cleared slightly, allowing for officials to prepare for the next bout of rain expected Thursday afternoon.
“It’s blue skies, no rain, so we’re using this time to reinforce our troops in the area to get ready for the next band of rain we’re expecting this afternoon and into tonight,” San Bernardino County Fire Department Public Information Officer Christopher Prater told The New York Post at around 9:30 a.m. local time.
Prater said no rescues were conducted overnight, but firefighters continue to patrol the San Debrardino area. Crews are continuing to use equipment to try to clear the roads, taking advantage of a break in the storm.
Travel was impacted across Southern California. Carlin Stiehl for NY Post
More than 120 emergency responders worked overnight in San Bernardino County alone, with officials reporting dozens of water and helicopter rescues earlier in the storm as residents were trapped in vehicles and flooded homes.
Flash flood warnings urging residents to get to higher ground and not to travel in flood waters have been issued by the National Weather Service for most of Southern California. Warnings were issued for Santa Barbara, Malibu and Topanga.
Nearly 28 million people were placed under flood watches at the height of the storm, according to officials.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department rescued a 50-year-old man, alone with his cat and his dog, from the hood of a car in the Sunland-Tujunga neighborhood, and issued an evacuation order for the area on Wednesday evening.
The storm dumped staggering amounts of rain, with mountain areas receiving 5 to more than 12 inches in just 48 hours, Los Angeles County foothills topping 12 inches, and lower elevations seeing 2 to 6 inches. Downtown Los Angeles recorded a typical December’s worth of rain before Christmas Day had ended.
Daily rainfall records for Christmas Eve were broken at Los Angeles International Airport, Hollywood Burbank Airport, Oxnard and Woodland Hills. Paradise, in Northern California, logged more than 20 inches of rain.
Powerful winds compounded the danger, with gusts reaching 72 mph at San Francisco International Airport, topping 100 mph near San Jose, and roaring at 80 to 90 mph in higher elevations, creating near whiteout conditions in parts of the Sierra Nevada.
The record-setting storm began on Christmas Eve and is predicted to dump many months’ worth of rain over just a few days, according to Tom Kines, Senior Meteorologist at Accuweather.
“The good news is once we get past tomorrow, the rain will definitely ease up out there, and there will be a stretch of sunnier and dry weather for several days,” Kines said.
Forecasters warned that until the system fully clears, flash flooding, mudslides and dangerous travel conditions remain a serious threat, particularly in wildfire burn scar areas where the ground can no longer absorb rainfall.