LOS ANGELES — Cleanup was beginning across Southern California on Saturday after a storm that forecasters billed as the most powerful in years caused flooding on multiple freeways, triggered dramatic mudslides and downed hundreds of trees and power lines. The storm was moving out Saturday morning after dumping record rain in some areas and leaving havoc in its wake.
Thousands of Los Angeles County residents remained without power early Saturday, while road crews scrambled to repair sinkholes throughout the area, including one in Studio City that swallowed two vehicles Friday night. No one was injured in the incident.
Evacuation orders were lifted early Saturday in Duarte, where mudflows threatened dozens of homes Friday night. The city erected concrete and wood barriers to protect neighborhoods after wildfires last summer made the area vulnerable to mudslides.
All lanes were reopened on the 5 Freeway in the Sun Valley area after heavy flooding caused a shutdown that lasted through early Saturday morning, the California Highway Patrol said.
Crews were still cleaning the remnants of a mudslide that struck the 210 Freeway in Altadena about 5:45 p.m. Friday.
As of 8:50 a.m. Saturday, there had been no storm-related traffic fatalities in Los Angeles County, CHP Officer Peter Nicholson said.
Meanwhile, Amtrak suspended service Saturday morning between Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo because of mudslides in the Santa Barbara area, officials said.
A spokeswoman did not know when service would resume.
Friday’s storm arrived with wind gusts that topped 80 mph in some parts of Los Angeles County and intense bursts of heavy rain, a potent combination that at one point Friday evening had forced closures on more than half a dozen major freeways and highways around the region.
The deluge created surreal scenes: cars trapped by rising waters along the 5 and 110 freeways, churning mudflows ripping through canyon and high-desert roads, and a massive landslide in the San Bernardino Mountains captured on video.
In San Bernardino County, two lanes of the southbound 15 Freeway near Highway 13 in the Cajon Pass remained closed after a section of the road weakened by rushing water collapsed, toppling a firetruck into the creek below.
A crew of three firefighters was driving in the lane closest to the shoulder around 8:30 p.m. Friday when they felt the engine’s back tires sinking into the roadway, San Bernardino County Fire Capt. Mike McClintock said. The crew managed to escape before the road gave way.
In the San Fernando Valley, two cars fell into a giant sinkhole. One occupant was briefly trapped but was rescued unharmed by Los Angeles firefighters.
Maggie Prvinic, who lives near the sinkhole, was out grocery shopping with her 5-year-old son when the first car fell into the hole. She was stunned to find the road blocked off and crowds of people surrounding her street when they returned home.
“It was dark, around 8:30, and we heard the choppers, we thought it was just electricity issues,” she said.
She said she was looking out the window of her family’s second-floor apartment when the second car fell into the sinkhole.
“I saw the car go inside and I was wondering if anyone was inside it. I said, ‘Oh, my gosh, Is it just a parked car?’” Prvinic recalled.
Prvinic, who is expecting another child in two weeks, said she was concerned that the sinkhole might threaten her apartment building. “Do I need to evacuate? I’m scared the ground is fragile and the sink hole will expand,” she said.
City officials said the sinkhole in Studio City was probably caused by a combination of excessive rain and a possible sewer failure.
City crews and emergency contractors were working Saturday to shore up the sinkhole, which could take several days to repair.
Laurel Canyon Boulevard remains closed between Moorpark Street and Valley Spring Lane, and Woodbridge Street is closed east of Laurel Canyon. Drivers are advised to avoid the area.
At least four fatalities have been attributed to the storm.
A 55-year-old man was electrocuted by a downed power line Friday in Sherman Oaks
In Victorville, where many motorists were stranded on flooded streets, rescuers found a person dead inside a submerged vehicle, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
Two passengers died in separate crashes on rain-slick Interstate 15 in Mira Mesa and City Heights on Friday, the CHP said.
The drivers involved in the collisions were suspected of driving too fast in the rain, CHP Officer Jake Sanchez said. “In these types of conditions, speed plays a huge factor because if you drive fast it’s very easy to lose control,” he said.
In a sign of the power of the winds, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to more than 150 reports of downed electrical wires. Authorities urged the public to stay away from power lines and avoid touching any person or thing that has come into contact with one.
More than 100,000 people across Southern California lost power.
There also were multiple swift-water rescues. Several homeless people were rescued along the Los Angeles River, while in the Inland Empire, firefighters plucked motorists stranded in floodwaters.
Evacuation orders were issued Friday for areas where brush fires hit last summer, with officials worried about the potential for mudslides.
Among the areas evacuated was a section of Duarte.
But some residents, like Mike Shane, decided to remain.
Shane started hearing mud flow down his street on Opal Canyon Road on Friday night. “It sounded like a rushing river,” he said.
But he never considered leaving his home, despite the city’s evacuation order. He’s lived in the area 17 years and has seen his share of mudslides, he said.
“There’s no need to go,” said Shane as he stood in front of his house Saturday morning and watched as crews scooped up the thin layer of mud that covered his sidewalk. “I want to be here with my house and dog.”
Shane’s neighbor Rochelle Carpio, standing next to him in white-and-pink pajamas, nodded in agreement.
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