In the mountain resort of Wrightwood, east of Los Angeles, rescue crews spent most of the day responding to dozens of calls for help and pulling drivers from submerged vehicles, said San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesman Christopher Prater. No casualties were reported until Wednesday evening, Prater said, Reuters writes.
Evacuation warnings in Southern California due to landslides, flash floods, and rare heavy rains pic.twitter.com/ACkij3Tl94
— mahmoud khalil (@zorba222) December 25, 2025
Aerial video footage released by the fire department showed rivers of mud flowing through flooded cottage neighborhoods.
Showers of more than an inch (2.54 cm) of rain per hour in some areas were the result of the region’s latest atmospheric storm, a massive air stream of dense moisture pulled from the Pacific and carried inland over the greater Los Angeles area.
The Christmas Eve storm was expected to linger into Friday, creating unsafe driving conditions during what would otherwise be a busy holiday travel period, the US National Weather Service said.
A flash flood warning was posted across Los Angeles County until 6 p.m. local time, with a message to motorists not to attempt travel unless fleeing a flood-affected area or under an evacuation order.
Los Angeles city officials urged residents to comply with evacuation orders issued for about 130 homes particularly vulnerable to landslides in areas where wildfires devastated the community of Pacific Palisades last year.
The Angeles Crest Freeway, the main thoroughfare through the San Gabriel Mountains, is closed in two sections due to flooding. Wednesday was marked by heavy rain accompanied by strong winds that, according to officials, brought down trees and power lines.
FLOOD RESCUE: First responders with the California Highway Patrol rescued nine people—including a baby—from a home surrounded by the raging South Yuba River. NWS Sacramento reported up to 8 inches of rain fell in parts of Northern California over the past 72 hours. pic.twitter.com/fiaQ9dCYIu
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) December 22, 2025
NWS meteorologist Ariel Cohen said 4 to 8 inches of rain had fallen in some foothills by 9 a.m. local time, while the Los Angeles City News Service reported numerous landslides in the mountains. Forecasters called for more than 12 inches of rain to fall in some low-lying mountain areas by the end of the week.
Forecasters even issued a rare tornado warning for a small portion of east-central Los Angeles County due to strong thunderstorm activity over the Alhambra community.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
