LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif. — Thunderous mudslides damaged dozens of homes, swept away cars and pushed furniture into the streets of the foothills north of Los Angeles on Saturday as intense winter rain poured down mountains denuded by a summer wildfire.
No injuries were reported, but residents and emergency responders were caught off guard by the unexpected ferocity of the storm, which damaged more than 40 homes and dozens of vehicles.
About 540 homes were eventually evacuated at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains after heavy rains overflowed debris basins, carried away concrete barricades and filled houses with mud and rocks.
Some residents complained they were not told to get out until the brunt of the damage was done — unlike during heavy rains last month, when officials repeatedly warned foothill communities to be on alert.
“Nobody knew it was going to be this bad,” said Katherine Markgraf, whose mother’s house was filled with more than 2 feet of mud, debris and tangled tree roots. “Last time, they started warning us in time to prepare for it.”
The storm’s payload came between 4 and 5 a.m. Rainfall totals topped 4 inches in a 24-hour period in some areas, the National Weather Service said.
Crews working on the road said some houses had been shifted from their foundations by the weight of the deluge.
The handlebars of an exercise bike could be seen sticking out the brown sludge, and a kidney-shaped swimming pool was filled to the brim with mud and rocks. Couches and televisions were strewn about the buried yard.
Several residents said they woke up around 4 a.m. to the sound of crashing and rain pounding on their rooftops.
“It was like thunder,” said Dave Becica, whose house was undamaged. “I said, ‘I hope that’s not the mountain coming down.’ It was the mountain.”
