Heavy rains, flash floods leave Southern California homes mired in mud

• Several dozen homes in the town of Wrightwood were damaged by mud.
• The atmospheric river recedes after three days of torrential rains.
• A flood watch remains in effect for much of the Los Angeles area.

Three days of heavy rain that caused flash flooding and mudslides in Southern California receded Friday as residents of homes in the mountain resort of Wrightwood began digging through mud and assessing the damage.

The holiday storm drenched the greater Los Angeles basin with up to 6 inches of rain by Friday, with 12 inches or more measured in lower-elevation mountains east of the city, according to the National Weather Service.

The deluge, which began on Christmas Eve, was caused by the region’s latest atmospheric river storm, a huge air current of dense moisture that was shot up from the Pacific and carried inland.

Torrential rains were accompanied by strong, gusty winds that toppled trees and power lines across the region, causing power outages. Heavy snow fell in the higher mountains.

Even before the storm hit, authorities were issuing evacuation warnings in neighborhoods considered vulnerable to flash flooding and debris flows, especially near hillsides previously ravaged by wildfires. Drivers are asked to avoid commuting whenever possible.

Although rainfall eased Friday, a flood watch remained in effect for much of Southern California.

Houses engulfed in mud

In Wrightwood, a town of about 5,000 that bore the brunt of the storm in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles, county safety inspectors began initial assessments of property damage.

Several dozen homes were severely damaged by rivers of mud that poured into the city Wednesday, and officials were on alert for additional debris flows that could result, San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesman Ryan Beckers said.

“Evacuation warnings for Wrightwood remain in effect and all roads in the area are closed, except for residents,” he said.

Misty Cheng, 49, an accountant who owns a vacation home in Wrightwood, said she learned the property was being swallowed by a mudslide from a neighbor who sent her video.

“My house is buried in more than 5 feet of mud,” Cheng said, speaking to Reuters by cellphone from her main residence in nearby Upland, where she lived when the landslide hit.

A stream of mud had entered the house through a shattered wall of the attached garage, filling the living room. By the time she ventured back to the property to see the damage firsthand and salvage some items, the mud had hardened into a mound solid enough to stand on.

“I was able to get a truckload of personal belongings” out of the house, mostly the second floor, which was left untouched, he said. Without flood insurance, Cheng said she started a GoFundMe page to raise money for repairs.

Aerial video posted online by the fire department showed clusters of homes and vehicles in the city crammed into walls of mud as crews with front-end loaders began clearing blocked roads.

Beckers said emergency crews rescued a few dozen people trapped by high water and debris flows in their vehicles or homes over the holiday, but no deaths or serious injuries were reported in Wrightwood.

The Weather Service said Southern California was expected to dry out over the weekend, while across the country, a major winter storm threatened to begin dumping record levels of snow over parts of New York state starting Friday night.