Southern California storm causes mudslides, flash floods

The worst had passed, but relief and clean-up efforts could dampen in the Antelope Valley, where the most serious falls happened in northern Los Angeles County.

On Friday, rescuers and those stranded in the highway debris flow described a chaotic scene that somehow left no reported injuries or deaths.

On Interstate 5, up to 5 feet of mud covered the northbound lanes, which were expected to take up to a day to clear, California Department of Transportation spokeswoman Lauren Wonder said.

While drought-ravaged California could certainly use a few rain after four years of cloudless skies, the storms brought on by El Niño could wreak havoc on state roadways and in canyon communities, as it did during the last major El Niño event in 1997.

The devastation is a result of Thursday’s storm, which flooded the Lake Hughes and Lake Elizabeth areas.

She said the two homes on the land seemed like they were OK, but that one of the homes was without water because of an inundated pump, and their 20-foot trailer is nowhere in sight.

Thick coating of mud flow seeped into homes, damaging properties and goods.

Nuesca said the family got out of the vehicle “just in time” after she reassured the children, “We’re not going to die”.

“It’s kind of like a tailgate party without the party”, she said. Cars and pickup trucks filled with water and mud.

Rescue teams worked tirelessly to remove hundreds of drivers and passengers from Route 58 Thursday – many of whom were stuck in the dark for up to 10 hours, the CBC reports.

Sgt. Mario Lopez, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol, said it will take days to reopen State Route 58, a mile of which is choked with mud between 2 and 6 feet deep. They fled their vehicle in pelting rain and hail, climbed onto the roof, and eventually found their way to safety.

Traffic in both directions on the freeway were also shut down – although most lanes had reopened by late Friday.

A low pressure system pulling from your south powered the thunderstorms.

In Lake Hughes, Jennifer Stewart said she had just picked up her 17-year-old daughter from school when the storm hit.

Photos of Interstate 5 posted on social media showed the freeway in disarray, with semi-trucks and cars sitting askew, stuck in mud that in a few cases surpassed their wheels.

Cars sat submerged in mud with their roofs barely visible.