California Flooding and Mudslides: Deaths Reported After Atmospheric Rivers

Devastating Flooding and Mudslides in California

• 💔 Three deaths have been reported following multiple atmospheric rivers that brought heavy rains to California.
• ⚠️ Life-threatening conditions affected millions, and thousands are dealing with the aftermath of devastating mudslides.

Impact on Wrightwood and San Bernardino County

• ⛰️ The mountain town of Wrightwood, located in San Bernardino County, experienced severe mudslides.
• 🚨 Officials had issued an evacuation order for Wrightwood prior to the storm.

Widespread Power Outages

• ⚡ Over 164,000 customers lost electricity due to wind gusts reaching 70 mph or more.
• 🔌 Pacific Gas and Electric reported the significant number of customers without power at the storm's peak.

Rainfall Totals Across California

• 🌧️ Hard-hitting areas received substantial rainfall, with Honeydew recording 17 inches, and White Horn and Potter Valley each receiving 15 inches.
• 📊 These rainfall totals were measured from December 20th up to the time of the report.

Mudslides in Burn Scar Areas

• 🔥 In areas like Aladena, previous wildfires changed the soil's nature, turning it from a sponge-like absorbent to a waterproof surface.
• 🌊 This change causes runoff to turn into mud, carrying ash, mud, rocks, and debris into neighborhoods.
• 🚧 While K-barriers were in place and prevented some homes from being impacted, they were breached in some instances.
• 🏠 A second set of barriers successfully prevented mud from entering homes in Altadena.

Evacuations and Preparedness

• 📢 The Los Angeles County Sheriff's office conducted door-to-door notifications in high-risk areas, urging residents to be ready to evacuate.
• ✈️ Some residents heeded the warnings, packing up and staying elsewhere, like an Airbnb, for the holidays.
• ⚠️ A flood watch remained in effect for the afternoon due to saturated ground, with authorities closely monitoring areas near burn scars.