SoCal communities left with mud, damage after days of wet weather

The Wrightwood community saw major damage due to the Christmas Eve storm, leaving at least one vehicle completely submerged in mud in the mountainside community.

The Wrightwood community saw major damage due to the Christmas Eve storm, leaving at least one vehicle completely submerged in mud in the mountainside community.

Eyewitness News spoke with two residents who live on the corner of Pine Street and Oriole Road, who said they had plans to visit family in Barstow on Wednesday, but that quickly changed.

"At first it was something I've seen before... just a little bit of flooding on the street, nothing, like, too alarming, but by the hour, it got very alarming, very fast," said Kaitlyn Johnson.

She said the river of water flowing outside of her home "tripled in size" as the day went on. Then, the water flow broke through a fence and began flooding her home.

"It's crazy," she said. "I mean, I definitely think we got lucky, for sure, because some of our neighbors are in a very tough spot right now."

The areas near Pine Street and Oriole Road are buried under feet of mud.

"This house is our safe gate. This white house. So we came over there and helped that neighbor do everything he could to help his yard, because his yard is our lifeline. Then we lost his yard, and this whole river split like 10 feet, and it finally waterfalled into our backyard. Our shed is full of mud, halfway up and up to our door handle has mud," a neighbor told Eyewitness News.

A shelter-in-place order issued for the community of Wrightwood was changed to an evacuation warning on Thursday afternoon, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department announced.

"There is still a potential for mud and debris flows from an approaching storm that may affect your area," read a post on the department's X account.

Residents are encouraged to sign up for the Telephone Emergency Notification System (TENS) and visit http://prepare.sbcounty.gov for any incident updates.

San Bernardino County fire crews went door-to-door, checking on residents and urging some of them to evacuate immediately.

An evacuation center has been set up at the Victorville Fairgrounds for anyone who needs a place to go.

More rain is expected on Christmas Day as a second storm system makes its way through Southern California.

Here's everything you need to know:

For Christmas Day, you can expect to see some scattered showers throughout the day with some heavier downpours at times. The front end of this second storm system will come into Southern California in the afternoon hours - around 3 p.m.

Most areas from Los Angeles to Long Beach to the mountains and the high deserts will see that heavy rain. That will last from Thursday night to Friday morning, bringing a chance of thunderstorms, as well.

A Flash Flood Warning is in effect for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties until 10 a.m., and Santa Barbara County is under a Flood Warning until 10 a.m.

What's in store for the weekend? Well, as the rain starts to clear out, expect to see some fog early Saturday morning, especially along the coast to some inland areas. Once that clears out, the sunshine returns.

Looking ahead to the following week, 70-degree temperatures are in store for Tuesday, but don't put away your umbrella just yet. There could be some light showers in store for New Year's Eve.

In an evening update, the San Bernardino County Fire Department says the Care and Reception Center at Silverado High School was closed Wednesday evening and a new shelter location is now open in Victorville at the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds.

The address is 14800 Seventh St.

The fire department said that location can accommodate evacuees as well as pets and animals of all sizes.

Hours of rain, heavy at times, created problems across Los Angeles, including in the Sun Valley area where a section of the 5 Freeway became flooded.

A portion of the 5 was also closed in San Fernando after a crash involving a FedEx truck. The truck split open and packages scattered all over the lanes.

The flooding got so bad in Eagle Rock, at Colorado Boulevard and Monte Bonito, that cars were forced to turn around once they reached a main artery that was completely flooded.

The powerful SoCal storm caused major flooding on the 5 Freeway in the L.A. neighborhood of Sun Valley. The rain caused traffic problems in other parts of the city.

Multiple roads in both Los Angeles and Ventura counties remain affected by the wild storm, with some state routes experiencing full closures.

The northbound 5 Freeway remains closed between Lankershim Boulevard and Truxford Street.

Meanwhile, the southbound freeway only has two right lanes open between Sheldon Street and Lankershim Boulevard. The southbound Lankershim Boulevard on-ramp, as well as the southbound Calgrove Boulevard on-ramp are closed.

The 101 Freeway has reduced lanes, with the left lane closed in both directions between California Street and Seaward Avenue.

There's a full closure of the Angeles Crest Highway. It is closed for 12 miles west of State Route 39, on San Gabriel Canyon Road.

State Route 27 at Topanga Canyon Boulevard remains closed between Grand View Drive and Pacific Coast Highway.

All lanes are closed on the State Route 33 between Fairview and Lockwood Valley roads.

State Route 138 also has a full closure between State Route 18 and 263rd Steet East in Ventura County.