Worst of year's biggest storm passes, but mudslide and debris cleanup continues

The brunt of a winter storm passed through Southern California on Thursday after heavy rain snarled traffic, caused debris flows and sparked warnings about flooding, thunderstorms, wind and hail.

The storm caused significant mud flows along Pacific Coast Highway and in the Sierra Madre foothills, where officials were cleaning up debris.

A small tornado in Oxnard damaged mobile homes and carports, the National Weather Service said.

The storm subsided Friday morning, but officials warned that people should remain cautious, especially around canyons and steeper terrain where the risk of mudslides and rockslides remains.

There were no injuries or serious damage reported in Malibu, according to city officials.

But PCH is closed indefinitely from Chautauqua Boulevard in Pacific Palisades to Sweetwater Canyon Drive in Malibu while work crews remove mud and debris, according to the California Department of Transportation.

“It could have been worse,” said Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart. “We've still got a lot of water in these hillsides, and they can slip and slide at any time. Until the earth stops moving and we can get a clear path on PCH, it won't be open for anything except the essential services through there.”

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A red car next to two homes is engulfed in mud from a storm.

The Sierra Madre foothills experienced a significant mud flow of several feet. Mud and debris entered several homes, but there were no reports of injuries or serious damage so far, a city official said.

On Friday afternoon, Sierra Madre lifted mandatory evacuation orders, downgrading them to evacuation warnings. Some roads remain closed as crews clean up. That process will continue through the weekend, according to city officials.

Sierra Madre resident Bill Duvall said when he walked outside late Thursday, water was rushing down the street, and he could hear rocks in the wash area bouncing around.

"As I walked up farther .... I looked up, and all of a sudden the water breached the dam, and just came tumbling down with so much pressure," he said.

The front area of a home is full of mud and a mailbox is partially buried in it.

"It blew the bridges up from the bottom and then the water kept coming down, but the county had done such a great job clearing out behind the dam three days before all this happened," he said. "If they didn't, there's no way the dam could have held all this back. So I feel very fortunate."

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Downtown Los Angeles saw almost 2.5 inches of rain. Sepulveda Canyon at Mulholland Drive got more than 3 inches, causing mud to cover the road.

A member of the Los Angeles Fire Department was swept off the road and into the ocean along with his vehicle when a large debris flow moved through Big Rock Road in Malibu, according to Erik Scott, LAFD public information officer.

He "was able to exit his vehicle and reach safety with minor injuries," Scott said on social media.

A spokesperson for Rancho Palos Verdes said work done in the Portuguese Bend landslide area held up well during the storm. In October, city leaders approved $4 million for temporary measures to slow down land movement during the upcoming rainy season. That area saw land move at about a foot a week in some places last year because of two wet winter seasons. Fissures in Altamira Canyon and Kelvin Canyon were filled with soil, as well as a bentonite seal to prevent water collecting and seeping into the ground.

Megan Barnes said officials monitored the area "before and during the rain event and observed only minor ponding on Palos Verdes Drive South, which was cleared." The road is the main thoroughfare in the landslide area and carries around 15,000 cars daily.

Cars were also getting stuck in mud, trees were down from 40- to 50-mph wind gusts, and water piled up on Sunset Boulevard.

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In Orange County, flooding was reported in Costa Mesa. To the east, mandatory evacuation orders for Trabuco Canyon were lifted Friday morning. Updates on Orange County evacuation orders and road closures can be found here.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office says all evacuation orders in that county have been lifted.