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.


Update: Cleanup begins after powerful storm slams Southern California »

All lanes are now open on the 5 Freeway in the Sun Valley area after heavy flooding caused a shutdown that lasted through early Saturday morning, California Highway Patrol Officer Peter Nicholson said.

Crews are still cleaning the remnants of a mudslide on the 210 Freeway in Altadena, after heavy rains Friday night. Calls about the mudslide came in at 5:49 p.m., Nicholson said.

As of 8:50 a.m. Saturday, there had been no fatalities reported because of storm-related traffic conditions in Los Angeles County, he said.


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 more than half a dozen major freeways and highways around the region closed.

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.

The southbound lane of Interstate 15 at the Cajon Pass collapsed, toppling a firetruck that was dangling over the side of the road. All three firefighters inside managed to escape without injury.

In the San Fernando Valley, two cars fell into a giant sinkhole. No one was injured in the incident.


To the north in Santa Barbara County, communities were battered by up to an inch of rain an hour, turning the Santa Barbara Airport into a lake with small aircraft playing the role of boats. The airport set a daily rainfall record with 4.16 inches, one of several records established Friday.

At least four fatalities were attributed to the storm.

Live storm updates: Flooding, mudslides and deadly winds »

A 55-year-old man was electrocuted by a downed power line Friday in Sherman Oaks on Sepulveda Boulevard just south of Burbank Boulevard.


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 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. By Saturday, however, those ordered were being lifted.


1 / 45 Richard Walker clears mud accumulated on his drive on Melcayon Road caused by last night’s heavy rain in Duarte. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 45 Clean-up crews are busy clearing Melcanyon Road on Saturday morning after it was inundated by mud-flow from heavy rain in Duarte. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 45 Clean-up crews are busy clearing Melcanyon Road after it was inundated by mud-flow from heavy rain in Duarte. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 45 A fire truck lies on its side after tumbling off the 15 Freeway in the Cajon Pass when a portion of the shoulder and right lane collapsed. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 45 A San Bernardino County fire truck plunged over the side of the Southbound15 Freeway, just south of Hwy 138 when right one lane and shoulder caved in due to heavy rains in Cajon Pass. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 45 A large 20-foot-deep sinkhole that swallowed two vehicles in North Laurel Canyon Blvd, in Los Angeles, is cordoned-off after a powerful storm hit southern California. (MARK RALSTON / AFP/Getty Images) 7 / 45 A car sits in a sinkhole on Woodbridge Street near Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Studio City following Friday’s rain. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 8 / 45 Southbound traffic on the Harbor Freeway comes to a standstill due to flooding from torrential rains on Friday night in Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 45 Abandoned cars sit on the flooded northbound Interstate 5 at Lankershim Boulevard in Sun Valley. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 10 / 45 City crews work to clear a large tree that fell across Olive Street, smashing a car during a severe storm in Alhambra. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 45 The Interstate 5 closed at Sheldon Street due to flooding on Friday evening. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 12 / 45 A large tree crushed a car and knocked down a power pole Friday in Sherman Oaks. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 13 / 45 Power lines were downed by a falling tree in Sherman Oaks. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 14 / 45 Henry Lofton, left, with his dog Brooklyn, and James Chandler, center, are rescued by L.A. Fire Department personnel from a flooded Sepulveda Dam basin. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 15 / 45 People cross a flooded intersection on Gloria Avenue in Van Nuys. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 16 / 45 Traffic slows on the Harbor Freeway as the rain falls in downtown Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 45 UCLA student Lexi Mossler walks by her apartment building on Kelton Avenue in Westwood after it was heavily damaged by a toppled tree Friday. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 18 / 45 A city worker checks the debris flow as the storm forces mud and rocks onto Melcanyon Road in Duarte. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 45 Traffic slows in the heavy rain on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 45 A pedestrian crosses a flooded intersection in Chinatown on a rainy Friday afternoon. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 45 Ethan Finlay, 7, leaps over muddy rain water flowing on Melcanyon Road in Duarte. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 45 Bruce Baral, left, and Michelle Baral fill up sandbags in Seal Beach on Friday afternoon. (Stuart Palley / For The Times) 23 / 45 Caught in the rain, a construction worker uses trash bags to keep dry while riding a bike along Pico Blvd. during a severe rain storm in Los Angeles. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 45 A pedestrian uses trash bags to keep dry in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 45 A pedestrian crosses the intersection of Hill and Ord streets in Chinatown. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 45 A rainstorm hits downtown Los Angeles on Friday afternoon. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 45 Pedestrians shelter under umbrellas as rain and mist shroud the downtown skyline on a stormy Friday afternoon. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 45 Elijah Kravets leaps over a flooded street in Westwood on Friday. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 29 / 45 Keith Williams ties down his homeless camp along the Los Angeles River in Long Beach as rain and high winds batter the area. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 30 / 45 Rain falls along the Los Angeles River in Long Beach during a storm on Friday. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 31 / 45 Looking south on the 405 Freeway in Mar Vista, commuters deal with difficult driving conditions amid what’s expected to be the strongest storm to hit Southern California in several years. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 32 / 45 Golf marshal Denise Yasuda holds an umbrella as golfers play in the Genesis Open golf tournament as rain falls during a storm at the Riviera Country Club. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 33 / 45 Mel Canyon Road gives a deserted look as it was closed to traffic and residents because of mandatory evacuation orders due to potential mudslides in Duarte. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 45 A hose attached to a portable pump is placed in an area prone to flooding in Seal Beach. (Stuart Palley / For The Times) 35 / 45 Rain began in Seal Beach around noon Friday as the large storm impacting Southern California moved inland. (Stuart Palley / For the Times) 36 / 45 A fallen tree on Seal Beach Boulevard on Friday afternoon. (Stuart Palley / For The Times) 37 / 45 Basil Bailey of Belmont Shores takes pictures of the incoming storm with gusty winds at the Seal Beach Pier Friday. “I love this weather,” said Bailey. (Stuart Palley / For the Times) 38 / 45 A large eucalyptus tree toppled onto a carport, damaging vehicles in Goleta, Calif. (Mike Eliason / Associated Press) 39 / 45 A few dozen pedestrians were on the Seal Beach Pier late Friday morning despite gusty winds as a large storm moved inland. (Stuart Palley / For the Times) 40 / 45 Wind-swept waves crash into the pier in Seal Beach on Friday. (Stuart Palley / For the Times) 41 / 45 Golfers take cover from the rain Friday during the second round of the Genesis Open at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 42 / 45 Golfers and their caddies take cover from the rain during second-round action of the Genesis Open at the Riviera Country Club on Friday. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 43 / 45 L.A. County sheriff’s Deputies Marcelo Sepulveda and Robert MacLean help a resident by putting wooden barriers between K-rails on Mel Canyon Road to protect homes from potential landslides in Duarte. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 45 Carmen Oilvas packs her car with necessary items and her dog as she leaves her home on Mel Canyon Road under mandatory evacuation orders in Duarte. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 45 Winds from an incoming storm kick up sand along the beach in Seal Beach on Friday morning ahead of a large rainstorm. (Stuart Palley / For the Times)

For much of the day, more than 100 residents decided to stay indoors despite the city of Duarte’s evacuation order, according to deputies who were going door to door asking residents who remained to sign a waiver.

As light rain fell on Alex Alarcon’s baseball cap, the Duarte resident spoke about why he decided to stay in his home despite the evacuation order.

He had left work early Friday morning and planned to spend the night at a hotel with his wife, two children and dogs but decided against it when he noticed around 1 p.m. that the rain wasn’t coming down as hard as he had initially thought.


Alarcon, who has lived in the area for six years, said that his home, at Larkhall Avenue and Deerlane Drive in Duarte, had mudslides not too long ago.

“I had mud sticking to the sidewalk right near my house,” he said, pointing to an area around his mailbox.

But Alarcon said he wasn’t too worried about Friday’s storm. He and his family felt content staying home.

By Friday night, the street adjacent to Valley View Elementary School was overflowing with mud, rock and other debris. But homes that lined the street appeared to be unharmed by the slow-moving mudslide thanks to concrete and wooden barriers that the city erected after fires made the area vulnerable.


As night fell, Austin Fuentes and his mother, Susan, heard the mudslide outside their front door.

“When we started getting heavy rain, we heard the mud flowing outside our house. You hear rocks tumbling and water rushing,” he said. “We’re just crossing our fingers we don’t have to clean up much more mud.”

Fuentes’ father and grandparents evacuated and were staying at a hotel just to be on the safe side.

“My grandparents have heart issues, and we felt it was safer for both of them not to be here,” Fuentes added.


In the San Bernardino County mountains, a landslide the size of three football fields threatened several homes, a fire station and a major road used by hundreds of residents, fire officials said.

Four homes and a San Bernardino County fire station in the unincorporated community of Forest Falls were directly in the path of the hillside, which started moving about 10 a.m. Thursday, fire spokesman Eric Sherwin said.

Two homes were vacant, and residents in the other two homes voluntarily evacuated. Fire officials have removed equipment from the station to protect it from damage, he said.

The landslide was 300 yards wide and extended 1,000 feet from top to bottom in the Slide Canyon area, according to Sherwin.


Like a calving glacier, pieces of the hillside have been slowly breaking off and dropping into a drainage area below.

“It’s a lot of material,” he said, “but it has a long time to come down.”

But firefighters worried that Friday’s powerful storm could hasten the process.

The hillside — a mixture of snow, rock, soil and timber — could spill onto Valley of the Falls Drive — a major road for residents living in the area, trapping a couple of hundred people for several days, Sherwin said.


San Bernardino County road crews were placing concrete barriers along the drive to help divert mud and debris, he said.

Southwest Airlines canceled hundreds of flights in and out of California on Friday because of the weather.

About 250 of the airline’s flights to or from Burbank, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and San Diego, among others, were canceled Friday, an airline spokesperson said.

American Airlines also canceled a host of flights to and from Orange County, and the aviation website flightaware.com reported 48 cancellations at LAX.


Trains serving Union Station were delayed Friday evening by storm activity.

The storm, part of a warm “atmospheric river,” is swollen with moisture and poised to pour rain onto burn-scarred areas in local mountains and foothills.

Between 2 and 6 inches of rain can be expected to fall, depending on the area, before the storm moves out Saturday.

Snow levels were anticipated to be 8,000 feet Friday night, lowering to 6,000 feet on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Because of the heavy precipitation, 1 to 2 feet of snow could fall above 8,000 feet in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and 6 to 12 inches above 6,000 feet.


Coastal waters will be dangerous through the weekend. High waves off the coast of Los Angeles County are expected to peak Saturday at 8 to 13 feet.

After a brief respite Sunday, another storm system is expected to move into the region early next week, bringing several more days of rain, forecasters said.

While hillside areas contended with mudslides, coastal areas were battered by high surf and flooding. Many beaches were closed as a safety precaution, and officials were monitoring the structural integrity of piers and other structures.

In Huntington Beach, a portion of Pacific Coast Highway was flooded out.


Newport Beach officials closed Back Bay Drive between San Joaquin Hills Road and Eastbluff Drive as a precaution Friday afternoon just as the storm was beginning to hit at full strength.

“As soon as it starts to rain, water, mud and rocks run out onto the street,” said George Murdoch, the city’s general manager for utilities. “It’s just a preventative measure since we know we’re going to get hit.”

The 101 Freeway at Seacliff in Ventura County was closed for hours as mud flowed onto the highway.

Still, there were some beneficiaries in all the rain.


In downtown Los Angeles, Uber driver John Kim anticipated extra business from people not wanting to walk even short distances in the rain.

“It’s good for me,” he said. “So much rain, I get busy.”

Times staff writers Joseph Serna, Richard Winton, Mark Yemma, Hannah Fry and Luke Money contributed to this report. The San Diego Union-Tribune and Associated Press also contributed to this report.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com


hailey.branson@latimes.com

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

michael.finnegan@latimes.com

ALSO


Person may have been shocked after downed tree crushes power line

In Duarte, most residents ordered to evacuate are staying put, authorities say

Watch ‘explosive’ landslide the size of 3 football fields plummet down a San Bernardino County mountain


UPDATES:

9:35 a.m.: This article was updated with new details about Duarte’s evacuation order being lifted.

8:50 a.m.: This article was updated with cleanup news, new record rain numbers and evacuations being lifted.

7:30 a.m. Feb. 18: This article was updated with a new death toll.


11:15 p.m.: This article was updated with details about a sinkhole.

9:15 p.m.: This article was updated with Cajon Pass action.

7:45 p.m.: This article was updated with regional reports on rain.

7:13 p.m.: This article was updated with new information on flooding.


5:44 p.m.: This article was updated with a situation at Union Station .

5:20 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information on flooding.

This article was originally published at 2:58 p.m. Feb. 17.