The holiday season in southern California began with a huge winter storm that swept across the state on Wednesday, bringing with it heavy rain, gusty winds and near white-out snow conditions, triggering evacuation warnings.
Weather forecasters predict the wettest Christmas in years in the region, and warned of flash flooding, mudslides and snow storms. Los Angeles County officials said Tuesday they were going door to door to about 380 homes that are especially vulnerable to order residents to evacuate.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in six counties to allow state assistance in storm response. In Northern California, flash flooding led to water rescues and at least one death, authorities said.
Areas along the coast, including Malibu, were under flood warnings on Wednesday, local officials said, with much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area also under wind and flood advisories.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department also issued an evacuation warning Wednesday morning for the community of Wrightwood, a mountain resort town in the San Gabriel Mountains about 80 miles (130 kilometres) northeast of Los Angeles, due to potential mud and debris flows from the storm that were seen rushing down the road in a social media video posted by county fire officials.
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Forecasters also warned that heavy snow and gusts were expected to create “near white-out conditions” in parts of the Sierra Nevada and make it “nearly impossible” to travel through the mountain passes. As of Wednesday morning, there was also a “considerable” avalanche risk around Lake Tahoe, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center.
In Monterey along the central coast, wind gusts reportedly reached 60 mph (97 kph). More than 5,000 people lost power Tuesday night due to a damaged power pole, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
Southern California typically gets half an inch to 1 inch (1.3 to 2.5 centimetres) of rain this time of year, but this week, many areas could see between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimetres), National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said.
Conditions could worsen in the mountains even as multiple atmospheric rivers move across the state during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. The storm in Los Angeles was expected to strengthen into Wednesday afternoon before tapering off later in the evening.
The state has deployed emergency resources and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties, and the California National Guard remains on standby.
Mike Burdick, who takes care of his elderly parents in Altadena, said he ran out to buy more sandbags Wednesday morning when he saw that the pool was already overflowing. With his parents living just a block under the Eaton Fire burn scars, the family was prepared to evacuate with a week’s worth of essentials for them, including for their dog and cat.
California Highway Patrol was also investigating a seemingly weather-related fatal crash Wednesday morning south of Sacramento.
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