An intense Pacific storm brought record-setting rain as well as snow to Southern California on Thursday, forcing mandatory evacuations in the Holy fire burn area, shutting down the Grapevine on the 5 Freeway for hours and clogging roads throughout the area with traffic, mud flows and rock slides.
Rain measured by midafternoon at the University of Southern California station in Los Angeles reached 1.90 inches, beating the previous record of 1.01 inches set on Dec. 6, 1997, the National Weather Service said in a tweet.
Fire officials rescued two people from flood-control washes in Los Angeles County — one man in Panorama City in the morning and a man in La Habra in the afternoon.
Over the past two days, Orange County saw as much as three to four inches of rain in some areas, such as Corona Del Mar and at the John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, the National Weather Service also said.
A Southwest Airlines flight landing at Hollywood Burbank Airport rolled off the end of a runway in the morning but was stopped when the aircraft hit an emergency area designed to slow down runaway planes. There were no reports of injuries.
It’s not clear yet what caused the plane to lose control. But a passenger on board said on Twitter that the aircraft appeared to hydroplane when it hit the rain-slicked runway.
The 5 Freeway through the Grapevine area near Tejon Pass was shut down for hours Thursday as snow fell on motorists. Caltrans shut down the roadway in the area — about 9 a.m. — and reported cars sliding on the roads in the Lebec and Grapevine areas. An aerial view showed trucks and cars jammed along the roadway.
By 3 p.m. all lanes had reopened, however, Caltrans encouraged drivers to use caution when traveling through the area.
#Grapevine #Snow gridlock pic.twitter.com/DJM1zzoWbr
— christina heller (@CHellerTVNews) December 6, 2018
The weather service lifted a flash flood advisory early in the afternoon for the Woolsey fire area in northwest Los Angeles and southern Ventura counties.
But the weather remained brutal to the south.
About 20 people needed help from Cal Fire Riverside in escaping flooded areas surrounding their homes just northeast of Lake Elsinore on Thursday afternoon.
Capt. Fernando Herrera, spokesman for Cal Fire Riverside, said people were stranded on Cobblestone Road, near Grand Avenue and Toft Drive in Lake Elsinore.
“The only reason they were stranded was because of the debris flow. They couldn’t drive out, and neither could we,” Herrera said.
Firefighters prepping to rescue residents stranded northeast of Lake Elsinore, in a neighborhood near Grand Avenue and Toft Drive. pic.twitter.com/aWIJtIU2WD
— Robert Gundran (@RobertGundran) December 6, 2018
Nearby, a mudflow threatened to flood the Larson Road garage of Janice Brown for the second time in a week, even though the Lake Elsinore home is more than a mile from the Holy fire burn area.
However, son Adam Smith, 34, piled sandbags along the curb, allowing the mudflow to continue onto Machado Street.
“We had to stack the sandbags higher and higher and higher” as the water level rose, Smith said. “From now on we’re just going toprepare.”
Flash flood warnings that were in effect until 7 p.m. for Riverside and San Bernardino counties were followed by a flash flood watch until midnight that includes most of those counties as well as coastal Orange and San Diego counties — most of southwestern California. Rainfall of up to one inch an hour was possible for some areas, the weather service said.
The areas include the Holy fire and the Canyon complex burn areas.
Water, rocks and mud run down #Mulholland Hwy in the #WoolseyFire burn area in #malibustorm Thursday pic.twitter.com/LIV1wSwOOd
— David Crane (@vidcrane) December 6, 2018
Authorities in Orange and Riverside counties ordered mandatory evacuations for some communities in the Holy fire area.
Mud flows closed a large stretch of Pacific Coast Highway from Malibu to the Ventura County line until noon Thursday and rock slides closed the Angeles Crest Highway — Highway 2 — from Vincent Gulch Divide to San Gabriel Canyon Road, or Highway 39, until at least Saturday, Caltrans said.
In Riverside County, a key freeway merge point, the westbound 60 Freeway at the 10 Freeway in the San Gorgonio Pass was closed in the midst of the morning commute after a 13-vehicle accident at the Gilman Springs Road on-ramp. The SigAlert for the area was lifted around 8:30 a.m.
Flooding was reported throughout the area:
• A mudslide hit the Victory Boulevard offramp to the eastbound 170 Freeway in Hollywood, leading authorities to issue a SigAlert for the immediate area.
• In Orange County, waters rushed through Hart Park in Orange.
https://twitter.com/MarkRightmire/status/1070771277613301762
• Several cars were trapped early in rising waters near the Sepulveda Basin in Encino. Flooding was reported by the California Highway Patrol at the westbound 60 Freeway east of the 71 Freeway in Pomona.
• In Costa Mesa, the rain flooded streets and submerged vehicles. Firefighters had to rescue an elderly woman from her car after she and other driver’s vehicles stalled in 1.5 feet of water that had accumulated near the intersection of 19th Street and Anaheim Avenue, according to Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue Capt. Chris Coates.
In the San Bernardino Mountains, chain requirements for vehicles were in force on Highway 38 from Heart Bar Campground to Hatchery Road, the CHP said. No chain requirements were in effect for mountains in Riverside County.
In the Angeles National Forest, Highway 2 was closed in both directions from Islip Saddle to Big Pines due to rock slides, and chains or snow tires were required from the San Bernardino-Los Angeles County line to the junction of Highway 138, Caltrans said.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the San Bernardino Mountains and a winter weather advisory for Los Angeles and Ventura County mountains, both scheduled to end at midnight Thursday.
Forecasters expected snowfall of 2 to 6 inches in the San Bernardino Mountains, with up to 12 inches on the highest peaks. Los Angeles and Ventura County mountains were expected to see snow of 5 to 10 inches above 7,000 feet elevation.
In Big Bear Valley, heavy snow stripped some trees of their limbs and downed power lines, leaving portions of the area without power, the National Weather Service reported Thursday night. Big Bear Mountain is expected to receive three to seven inches of snow.
There was no winter advisory for the Riverside mountain community of Idyllwild, but rain is expected.
Rain and snow from the storm were forecast possibly into Friday for some areas.
Staff writers Josh Cain, Alma Fausto, Robert Gundran, Brian Rokos, and Jonah Valdez contributed to this report. City News Service also contributed.
