2 dead as relentless storm hits Southern California
A car plows through a flooded area of Sunland Blvd in Sunland, CA, on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. Rain continued to fall over much of Southern California adding to historic rain totals in some areas. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
An unusually intense, record-shattering winter storm continued to pound Southern California on Tuesday and led to at least two deaths, as well as flooding, mudslides and rescues, while eye-popping rainfall totals kept rising.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles said the storm was expected to ease a bit Wednesday morning, but then precipitation will pick up again.
“An end is in sight, but not until Thursday or Friday. Do not let the break Wednesday morning misguide you – more rain and mountain snow (are) coming Wednesday afternoon and night,” the NWS said on social media.
Sunday and Monday totals amounted to the third-wettest two-day stretch for Los Angeles since records were kept starting in the 1870s, said Ariel Cohen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, in a Tuesday update.
“We still have light to moderate rain ongoing across the greater L.A. area,” Cohen said. “Soils are so saturated it will take very little additional rain to increase already flooded areas with more flooding, landslides, mudslides and debris flow.”
The driver of a pickup was found dead after a three-car collision sent the truck into a flood-control channel in Moreno Valley on Monday night. The body of Isaac Piza, 25, of San Bernardino, was found in the channel about 6 miles to the south in Perris, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said. Another driver, Keiana Bridgeforth, 50, of Menifee, was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision.
On Tuesday, a car ran off the 15 Freeway near Nichols Road in Lake Elsinore and overturned in a channel. But everyone in that close call was able to get out safely, according to the California Highway Patrol.
In Anaheim, a pregnant woman was helped out of a tunnel along the Santa Ana riverbed and walked up by firefighters after she became trapped in rising water, said Sgt. Jon McClintock, a spokesman for Anaheim Fire & Rescue. Firefighters got the call around 9:15 a.m.
They believed the woman was homeless and living in the tunnel. She was taken to a hospital, McClintock said.
Areas including Bel Air and the Sepulveda Canyon saw 12.32 inches and 12 inches respectively, over a 48-hour period. Woodland Hills had 11.70 inches by noon Tuesday.
Forecasters projected the heaviest rainfall would hit Orange County before 6 a.m., but the county was getting walloped for hours after that on Tuesday.
Coto de Caza had received 7.17 inches of rainfall over three days as of 2:19 p.m. Tuesday.
Brea, at 5.95 inches, had the highest amount for North Orange County spots.
Lytle Creek, in the San Bernardino Mountains, was up to 13.60 inches of rainfall as of Tuesday morning, and in Riverside County valleys, North Elsinore had collected 4.29 inches.
Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach remained closed Tuesday, Feb. 6, sending commuters and travelers to alternative routes due to flooding stemming from the wetlands area.
“We haven’t been able to reopen it for safety reasons,” said Christine Knadler, Caltrans public information officer for District 12.
It was the only major roadway in Orange County closed as of Tuesday morning, with some smaller closures elsewhere mostly from drainage issues, she said. “We’re working on those pretty quickly,” she added.
Voluntary evacuation warnings remain in place in Orange County, including in Silverado, Williams, Modjeska and Trabuco canyons, according to Shannon Widor, an Orange County Public Works spokesperson.
Another evacuation warning was issued Sunday for the El Dorado and Apple fire burn scars in San Bernardino County. That specifically was for Seven Oaks, Barton Flats, Forest Falls and Angelus Oaks.
But as conditions eased in Los Angeles County, three mandatory evacuation orders were downgraded to warning status. Those were for the La Tuna Canyon area, the Agua fire burn area along Soledad Canyon Road east of Agua Dulce Canyon Road and the Owen fire burn area, on Santa Maria Road north of Topanga Canyon in the Topanga area.
On Tuesday, homeowners were reeling in Hacienda Heights after a mudslide damaged three homes and displaced seven residents. No injuries were reported..
Two cars are trapped under a retaining wall on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, that gave way on Sunday during a rain storm at Las Lomas Gardens apartment complex in La Habra, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Two cars are trapped under a retaining wall on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, that gave way on Sunday during a rain storm at Las Lomas Gardens apartment complex in La Habra. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Workers place protective fencing around a retaining wall on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, that gave way at Las Lomas Gardens apartment complex in La Habra, on Sunday during a rain storm. The wall gave way and trapped two cars. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Two cars are trapped under a retaining wall on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, that gave way on Sunday during a rain storm at Las Lomas Gardens apartment complex in La Habra. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Two cars are trapped under a retaining wall on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, that gave way on Sunday during a rain storm at Las Lomas Gardens apartment complex in La Habra. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Workers place protective fencing around a retaining wall on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, that gave way at Las Lomas Gardens apartment complex in La Habra, Con Sunday during a rain storm. The wall gave way and trapped two cars. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Workers place protective fencing around a retaining wall on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, that gave way at Las Lomas Gardens apartment complex in La Habra, on Sunday during a rain storm. The wall gave way and trapped two cars. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A man stands on a bridge over a swollen Aliso Creek in Lake Forest, CA on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024 as storms moved through the area. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A man walks along a swollen Aliso Creek in Lake Forest, CA on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024 as storms moved through the area. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The baseball fields at Heroes Park in Lake Forest, CA flooded on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024 as storms moved through the area. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ducks swim in flooded baseball fields at Heroes Park in Lake Forest, CA on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024 as storms moved through the area. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A man walks along San Diego Creek in Irvine, CA on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024 as storms moved through Orange County for a second day. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
City employee Max Bennett takes photos of the flooded driving range at the Lake Forest Golf Center in Lake Forest, CA on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024 as storms hit Orange County for a second day. The golf course is part of a retention basin that can become overwhelmed in some storms. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Runoff storm water creates a powerful waterfall near Dana Point Harbor on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. Dozens of people didn’t let the rain stop them from parking their cars and capturing images on their cellphones. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Runoff storm water creates a powerful waterfall near Dana Point Harbor on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. Dozens of people didnxe2x80x99t let the rain stop them from parking their cars and capturing images on their cellphones. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Runoff storm water creates a powerful waterfall near Dana Point Harbor on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. Dozens of people did not let the rain stop them from looking at it up close. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Runoff storm water creates a powerful waterfall near Dana Point Harbor on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. Dozens of people didnxe2x80x99t let the rain stop them from parking their cars and capturing images on their cellphones. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Bella Jordan, 1, and her brother Benjamin, 4, get their picture taken by their mother, Rana Jordan, at the Dana Point waterfall on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The rain-slick I-5 freeway in Irvine created tricky driving conditions on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024 where a motorist hit a pole. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A home that backs up against La Mirada Boulevard lost some hillside and a brick wall sometime riding the recent rains in La Mirada seen on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A debri flow that Anaheim Deputy Public Works Director Dan DeBassio referred to as a, xe2x80x9csuperficial mudslidexe2x80x9d sits behind Dave Whitexe2x80x99s Hudson Bay Drive home in his backyard in Anaheim on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Dave White, left, talks with Dan DeBassio, deputy public works director, as they stands next to Whitexe2x80x99s patio that was destroyed by a pine tree that fell during rain yesterday as they look over the hillside behind his Hudson Bay Drive home after a small mudslide sent debris clogging the storm drain in his backyard in Anaheim on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Dave White stands next to his patio that was destroyed by a pine tree that fell during rain yesterday as he looks over the hillside behind his Hudson Bay Drive home after a small mudslide sent debris clogging the storm drain in his backyard in Anaheim on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Cars splash thought a flooded northbound lane of Brookhurst Street near The 91 Freeway in Fullerton on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A car traveling southbound on Yorba Street in North Tustin, goes through a large puddle on the roadway as rain continues to fall for a third day throughout Orange County on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Tim Nicholas of Orange and his dog Dash check out the rain run off in Santiago Creek at Santiago Creek Park in Santa Ana on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Tim Nicholas of Orange and his dog Dash check out the rain run off in Santiago Creek at Santiago Creek Park in Santa Ana on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People watch the rain runoff in Santiago Creek near Santiago Creek Park in Santa Ana on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Runoff rainwater passes over a picnic table in the middle of Santiago Creek at Santiago Creek Park in Santa Ana on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Vehicles traveling along the southbound lanes of Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa run through storm runoff on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 6, 2024. It was the third day of heavy rain falling throughout Orange County. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Vehicles traveling along the southbound lanes of Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa run through storm runoff on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 6, 2024. It was the third day of heavy rain falling throughout Orange County. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A pedestrian jumps over storm runoff flowing along the southbound lanes of Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 6, 2024. It was the third day of heavy rain that fell throughout Orange County. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A vehicle turns on to Merrimac Way from the southbound lanes of Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa and runs through deep storm runoff on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 6, 2024. It was the third day of heavy rain falling throughout Orange County. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Vehicles traveling along the southbound lanes of Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa run through storm runoff on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 6, 2024. It was the third day of heavy rain falling throughout Orange County. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Crews from the South Coast Water District are on scene of a small landslide along Sunset Avenue near 10th Avenue in Laguna Beach on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. The street is closed. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Crews from the South Coast Water District are on scene of a small landslide along Sunset Avenue near 10th Avenue in Laguna Beach on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. The street is closed. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Multiple mudslides came down a hill along Gotera Drive in Hacienda Heights, on Tuesday, February 6, 2024. Three homes were red-tagged, but only one, 3126 Gotera Drive, had structural damage. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The heavy rainfall knocked out a wall below an apartment complex in La Habra and led to flooding on residential streets in Fullerton.
In La Habra, an apartment building at the Las Lomas Gardens apartments was red-tagged and evacuated by the city after a wall collapsed and damaged three cars Sunday night, ABC Los Angeles reported.
Work was underway to secure the area around the building after heavy downpours caused the collapse, said Greg Raap with Las Lomas Gardens management.
“This is not something that we anticipated would have been a failure like that,” Raap told the station.
Among other rescues, firefighters conducted a daring one in the Pacoima Wash on Monday, where they used a helicopter to hoist a man and his dog to safety.
In Los Angeles County, Caltrans closed both directions of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu near Ventura County because of storm erosion Monday night. The closure from Las Posas Road to Sycamore Canyon Road came after a right lane shoulder was partially washed out, officials said, with concerns that incoming high tides could cause further shoulder damage on the dark roadway.
Caltrans officials recommended using the 101 Freeway as an alternative, but recommended against traversing the 23 and 27 freeways in the Santa Monica Mountains in light of the potential for mudslides and flooding.
Roads leading to and through the Sepulveda Basin were closed because of flooding, including Burbank Boulevard between the 405 Freeway and Balboa Boulevard and Woodley Avenue between Burbank and Victory Boulevards.
Flash flood warnings lit up cell phones, including for coastal Orange County, as well as Whittier, Norwalk, La Mirada, Santa Fe Springs and other inland areas.
Officials in Torrance were dealing with a water main break above Vista Largo, a residential street in the southern portion of the city, which also sent debris into the street.
Los Angeles city firefighters were busy, responding to 307 mudslides and 35 incidents of buildings requiring inspection due to mudslides or slope failures, Chief Kristen Crowley said Tuesday. Five buildings in the city were red-tagged and seven more were yellow-tagged.
In addition, Los Angeles’ Public Works department responded to 257 fallen trees or branches and 159 reports of potholes and have cleared 875 catch basins and stormwater conveyance systems, Crowley said.
Upwards of 7,000 customers were without power at one point on Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, but since the storm started, more than 53,000 had seen their power restored.
Downtown Los Angeles’ rain total was around 8.13 inches, while Pasadena recorded just over 8 inches by noon.
Forecasters expected showery conditions Tuesday for L.A. County with the potential for an additional inch to inch and a half in eastern portions of the county, and upwards of three-quarters of an inch in others.
Snow accumulations were currently as low as 5,500 feet, but could reach as low as 4,500 feet through Friday, according to the NWS.
After just a dusting of snow accompanied by heavy rain in previous days, the snow was piling up in Big Bear on Tuesday.
Anna Maldonado, who works at Blauer Board Shop on Big Bear Boulevard, said that’s because temperatures have finally dropped below freezing.
“We’re all surprised how much we’ve gotten after all the rain. We’ve got like a foot of snow, which is a big difference, 100%,” she said.
Resort levels across the eastern San Gabriels could see a foot or more of new snow, while lower elevations above 5,500 feet could see 5 to 10 inches of new snow. There is a 25% chance for an inch of snow on the 5 Freeway Tejon Pass early Wednesday morning.
Storm conditions led to the closure of some college campuses, including Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Long Beach, which switched to online instruction. Those campuses were set to resume normal operations Tuesday.
Rainfall and road conditions led the Bear Valley School District to close schools Tuesday, Asst. Superintendent Sue Nunes said.
The rain is expected to stop in Los Angeles County on Wednesday for about 12 hours, but another storm is coming in Wednesday night. It should be clear Thursday morning. In Orange County and the Inland Empire, the rain is forecast to continue through Saturday, the NWS said.
