Damage reports were piling up as a slow-moving storm system steadily pummeled Southern California on Sunday night.
In Studio City, a debris flow sent mud and other objects flowing down the 11900 block of Lockridge Road, damaging at least two homes, Los Angeles firefighters said. All nine homes on Lockridge Road were evacuated, including pets, “in case further soil instability causes another flow,” firefighters said. There were no injuries. Sixteen residents were displaced.
Off Long Beach, 19 people were rescued from the rocks of the breakwater after the mast of the 40-foot boat they were on broke in high winds.
Eleven people climbed onto the rocks, where they were rescued, and eight more were picked up “by a good Samaritan” before the professional rescuers arrived, said Brian Fisk, firefighter and Long Beach Fire Department public information officer.
As of 10 p.m. Sunday, more than 7 inches of rain had fallen in Topanga, and about 6 inches in Bel-Air, Woodland Hills and Agoura Hills. About 4 inches had fallen in Beverly Hills and Culver City and 3 inches in downtown Los Angeles, Pasadena and Santa Monica.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department warned that all canyon roads leading to and from Malibu had been hit by rock and mud slides. On Sunday night, Malibu Canyon Road was closed between Malibu Crest Drive and Mulholland Highway.
In Tarzana, swift-water rescue teams responded to motorists stuck in floodwaters at West Oxnard Street and Donna Avenue. Images on social media showed rising waters and cars stalled amid local flooding.
Caltrans reported a small landslide that forced the closure of the road connecting southbound Interstate 5 to the southbound 110 freeway.
Around 7:30 p.m., all lanes of Interstate 5 were flooded in Sun Valley, officials said.
The L.A. Department of Water and Power reported 4,674 customers experiencing power outages as of 8 p.m.
City workers tallied 254 fallen trees and branches, 549 pothole reports and 106 catch basins cleared to deter flooding.
Los Angeles police recorded 21 ambulance calls for traffic incidents between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, with no fatalities.
Los Angeles Unified announced that, despite the storm, campuses would remain open — pending other developments — except for Vinedale Preparatory Academy, which sits within the La Tuna Canyon Road Evacuation Zone. Students and staff will relocate to Glenwood Elementary.
Areas at risk of flooding or mudslides — a danger in recent hillside burn areas — are under evacuation orders. Within Los Angeles, officials ordered evacuations for La Tuna Canyon Road, roughly within the area bounded by Horse Haven Street to the north, Martindale Avenue to the east, Penrose Street to the south and Ledge Avenue to the west. The area is threatened by the deluge pouring onto the burn scars left by the 2022 Land fire.
Even for those passing through, La Tuna Canyon Road, in the Sunland area, should be avoided. Several sections allow for resident access only. At least one portion is entirely closed.
In the Sepulveda Basin, Burbank Boulevard is closed between the 405 Freeway and Balboa Boulevard. Woodley Avenue is closed between Burbank and Victory boulevards.
Across the region and state, reports of damage and rescues were multiplying: Whipped by powerful winds, trees fell on homes across Northern California, and one crushed a car on Highway 101 near Santa Rosa, injuring a motorist. Firefighters in San Jose rescued stranded people and dogs from an island in the flooding Guadalupe River.
There were reports of street flooding in Seal Beach and Huntington Beach. Caltrans said Pacific Coast Highway along Bolsa Chica State Beach was closed due to flooding.
Local news outlets reported that firefighters in Ventura rescued a person trapped on an island in the Ventura River underneath the 101 Freeway. There were no reports of injuries.
In the eastern Sierra, U.S. 395 was shut overnight Sunday north of Mammoth Lakes, past Mono Lake, all the way to Bridgeport.
Santa Barbara Airport closed due to flooding on the airfield. Santa Barbara’s public schools and community colleges will be closed on Monday.
A wide-ranging flood watch was in effect throughout Southern California until 4 p.m. Tuesday amid a forecast of rain, rain and more rain: 4 to 8 inches generally and 8 to 14 inches in the foothills and mountains, according to the National Weather Service. Peak rates will reach an inch an hour and 3 inches in three hours, exacerbating the risk of localized flooding.
Through 1 a.m Monday, peak wind gusts were expected to be 30 to 50 miles per hours in L.A. and Ventura counties and 50 to 70 miles per hour in mountains and hills. Winds are expected to diminish on Monday.
On Sunday, snow levels dropped to 6,500 feet. They will drop lower as the week progresses — to 5,000 feet on Tuesday. From 5,000 to 6,000 feet in elevation, about 4 to 8 inches of snow will fall; from 6,000 to 7,000 feet the accumulation will be 10 to 20 inches. Above 7,000 feet 2 to 5 feet of snow will fall.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
