Christmas flood risk in Southern California forces families from their homes

SAN DIEGO − As a fierce atmospheric river dumps heavy rains across parts of Southern California, some residents have been driven from their homes on Christmas Day as flooding and debris continue to threaten the region.

The storm, which prompted evacuation orders and warnings in Southern California counties including Ventura and Santa Barbara, is expected to continue delivering excessive rainfall through the end of the week, along with heavy snow to the Sierra Nevada mountains, the National Weather Service said.

The rain is especially a risk across burn scars, areas that experienced recent wildfires and are more prone to flooding and landslides, officials said. That includes areas impacted by the Palisades and Eaton fires of January 2025 in Los Angeles.

“The fast-moving runoff can pick up rocks, mud, ash and debris, quickly turning into a debris flow that can race downhill with little warning, taking out homes, vehicles and roads along the way,” AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.

The weather service office in Los Angeles has urged the public to “stay safe and avoid travel” due to possible wind damage, flooding, mudslides and landslides in the region. A state of emergency was in place across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Shasta counties, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced.

The storm system, which arrived late on Tuesday, comes after an earlier atmospheric river brought heavy rain to parts of Central and Northern California. At least four deaths have been linked to the severe weather. Nearly 100,000 homes and businesses were without power on Christmas afternoon across the state of California, according to USA Today’s power outage tracker.

At least 4 fatalities reported

Heavy rains that caused flooding and closed roads in portions of Shasta County, in northern California, killed one man on Sunday. The man, who was identified as 74-year-old Richard Michael Wilsey, died after his vehicle was overtaken by floodwaters.

On Monday, a woman in her 70s died after she was “knocked off a rock ⁠by a large wave and swept into the ocean” during a storm at a beach at MacKerricher State Park, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

San Diego Fire-Rescue told CBS 8 and NBC 7 that a man, who was in his 60s or 70s, went into cardiac arrest after a large branch fell on him outside of his residence. Family identified the man as Roberto Ruiz, and said he had went outside to move his car when he was hit by the tree branch, NBC 7 reported.

In Sacramento County, sheriff’s deputy James Caravallo died in what officials believed to be a weather-related crash while driving to work, the county sheriff’s office said.

“Deputy Caravallo was a dedicated employee who proudly served our agency for 19 years,” the sheriff’s office wrote in an X post. “Our hearts are with Deputy Caravallo’s family, and we ask the public to keep Deputy Caravallo’s loved ones and our Sheriff’s Office family in their thoughts and prayers.”

How much rain will Los Angeles, Southern California get?

Some areas of Southern California are expected to pick up over a month’s worth of rain in just a couple days, AccuWeather reported. In downtown Los Angeles, 4 to 8 inches could fall, more than the historical average rainfall for the whole month of December of about 2.48 inches, the outlet said.

“Such rainfall amounts falling over a relatively short amount of time can lead to major, life-threatening flooding, especially in the northern portion of the LA basin,” AccuWeather said in a news release.

As of Christmas Eve, 8 to 10 inches of rain had fallen over the San Gabriel Mountains, sending water flow into the Antelope Valley, the weather service in Los Angeles said.

So far, over 20 inches of rain have fallen over Paradise, California, AccuWeather reported. A wind gust of 108 mph was recorded at Pablo Point, in the North Bay Area.

As for snow, up to 12 feet or more is expected in the Sierra Nevadas through the end of the week, according to AccuWeather.

Flood risks force evacuations in time for holiday

The flooding closed major roads on Christmas Eve, during peak travel time for the holiday. Parts of Interstate 5 and U.S. Route 2 reported closures due to flooding and debris flows.

Residents living near burn scars from the Palisades and Eaton fires were urged to be ready to leave their homes at a moment’s notice.

Others were under evacuation orders, and law enforcement was going door to door to warn people at specific properties “at higher risk for mud and debris flow impacts due to the safety risk to people and animals as well as a higher risk for property damage,” the County of Los Angeles ⁠said.

Mandatory evacuations were issued across canyon communities in Orange and San Bernardino counties. Others remained under shelter-in-place orders Christmas morning, depending on their location.

In Ventura County, heavy rain and strong winds caused damage to the Mission Basilica San Buenaventura on Christmas Eve, with chunks of plaster falling to the ground, the Ventura ⁠County Star, part of the USA Today Network, reported.

A downed tree fell into homes in the Leisure Village neighborhood of Camarillo, the outlet reported. The fire department fielded hundreds of weather-related calls by the morning of Dec. 24, including downed wires and trees. A water rescue by helicopter was performed after a hiker was trapped, the VC Star reported.