Mudslide closes road, traps residents as 'Pineapple Express' hits L.A.

LONG BEACH - A ferocious storm system working its way down the West Coast pounded Southern California Friday with heavy rain and hurricane-force winds, causing flash floods and mudslides that closed roads, buried homes in mud and left tens of thousands without power.

As the storm moved south Friday, it was expected to dump up to four inches of rain on the Los Angeles area, according to AccuWeather. Rainfall from this one storm could be as much as the average rainfall for the entire month of December in the region.

Flash flood and winter storm warnings remain in effect through much of the southern part of the state Friday afternoon.

The storm, dubbed the "Pineapple Express," is one of the strongest to hit the West Coast in years.

A mudslide in the town of Camarillo Springs in Ventura County Friday morning closed roadways and damaged several homes, leaving residents trapped inside. One elderly couple was rescued by fire crews and at least eight homes were damaged by rock, mud and debris that swept down a hillside, KTLA 5 News reported. The station said the mud and debris reached up to the roofs of some homes, while the thick mixture of mud and water flowed through shattered windows into other houses.

At least 40 people displaced by the mudslide took shelter in a Red Cross evacuation center, the Associated Press reported.

In Los Angeles, the Fire Department reported a rescue on the Los Angeles River Friday of two people clinging to trees. One person was rescued and the search for the second continues.

In Long Beach, the storm is being blamed for a balcony collapse at an apartment and retail complex. About 100 feet of balcony that led to apartments on the second floor of the complex tore off the building Friday morning.

Steven Thai, who lives in a second floor unit, says he was sitting on a couch with his family when he heard a loud crash. When he ran outside, he saw the balcony of the wood and stucco building was gone. He said he ran out the back way.

"All of a sudden we heard a thunderous boom and just got up and went outside and the balcony was gone," he says. "We never would have thought that would have happened. You only see that stuff on TV."

Elsewhere in the city, the storm ripped limbs off trees and swelled the normally dry rivers. Los Angeles County fire and lifeguard crews patrolled the Los Angeles River where the waterway meets the ocean in Long Beach.

In Orange County, firefighters recovered the body of a man from swift-moving water in a Garden Grove flood channel. Authorities have not determined the cause of death.

Scattered power outages left at least 63,000 people from Los Angeles to San Diego without power, the Associated Press reported.

Officials ordered mandatory and voluntary evacuations brought on by fear of mudslides. The first of the evacuations was in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendora, where the foothills were stripped bare by a major wildfire earlier this year. Glendora police say five people are using an evacuation center after debris and mud flows sent rocks the size of golf balls and bricks down the street.

The storm has been making its way down the West Coast. In some parts of northern California, the storm produced hurricane-force winds of 78 mph and one gust of 147 mph in the Sierra.

OREGON DEATHS

Authorities in Southern Oregon say high winds toppled a tree atop a 40-year-old homeless man sleeping in a tent along the Pacific Coast Trail. The Jackson County sheriff's office said the man, Phillip Crosby, complained of difficulty breathing and died shortly afterward, the Medford Mail Tribune reports.

Also, a teen died of storm-related injuries Thursday evening in the Portland, Ore., area after avery large tree fell onto the vehicle, apparently causing the woman who was in the car with him to swerve into another tree.

The teenage boy was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was was seriously injured and taken to a nearby hospital.

CABLE CARS HALTED

Power in San Francisco's Financial District, in the heart of the city, went out shortly after 7 a.m. PT, forcing the evacuation of thousands of workers from skyscrapers over several blocks. The iconic Bank of America — the architectural star of the "Towering Inferno" movie in 1974 — was darkened.

Muni buses were abandoned on city streets, inoperable and clogging lanes, because they had no power.

Traffic was worse on Highway 280, the scenic stretch of road that connects San Francisco to San Jose. Flooding and stalled cars created gridlock for miles on the southbound side. Highway workers feverishly tried to sweep off chunks of mud that had made their way in the extreme left lanes, snarling traffic.

Every 15 minutes or so a National Weather Service warning interrupted radio reports with its klaxon. The message warned residents not to try to drive across flooded roadways with the tag line, "Turn around, don't drown."

YOUR TAKE:Share your photos of the California storm

The powerful storm system, which is expected to batter California with drenching rain, heavy snow, pounding surf and howling winds through Friday, is fueled by the "Pineapple Express" that is delivering a steady stream of moisture directly from Hawaii to the West Coast.

As the storm spreads south, downpours are likely to cause debris slides, especially in areas affected by this year's intense and widespread wildfires.

As much as 8 inches of rain could fall on coastal mountains over a 24-hour period, the weather service said. Ski resorts in the northern Sierra Nevada could get more than 2 feet of snow, with wind gusts of up to 70 mph or higher expected on some mountain tops.

"It's a short amount of time for that amount of water," forecaster Diana Henderson said.

Contributing: Associated Press, Elizabeth Weise, Doug Stanglin, Laura Mandaro, Jon Swartz, Aamer Madhani and Sara Roth for USA TODAY

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