The latest in a relentless series of storms battered California on Monday, flooding roads and damaging coastlines with high waves, turning rivers into rushing flood zones and forcing the evacuation of thousands in towns with a history of deadly mudslides. It blames the storms for at least 14 deaths.
Rain is expected to continue through Tuesday after dumping up to 14 inches at higher elevations in central and southern California, the National Weather Service said. After a short respite, another storm is expected to hit the state in a few days, adding to the misery and more saturated areas already at risk of flooding and debris flow.
The storms left behind chaotic roads, threatening coastal and riverbank cities and leaving tens of thousands without power. The Weather Service issued a flood watch through Tuesday for the entire San Francisco Bay Area, along with the Sacramento Valley and Monterey Bay. Areas hit by wildfires in recent years faced the prospect of sliding mud and debris from scorched hillsides that had not yet fully recovered their protective layer of vegetation.
“Additional heavy rains on Tuesday will exacerbate ongoing flooding and continue the risk of flash floods and mudslides, especially in areas of recent burn scars,” the Meteorological Service said.
Forecasters also warned that southwestern California could see wind gusts of up to 60 mph at the height of the storm, while some areas could receive rain at a rate of half an inch per hour.
Not only that, but the weather service warned of a “relentless parade of atmospheric rivers” — tall plumes of moisture extending into the Pacific Ocean that could drop massive amounts of rain and snow.
The death toll from the relentless series of storms that began last week jumped from 12 to 14 on Monday, state officials said, when two people, one homeless, were killed by falling trees.
California state highway authorities said late Monday night that portions of highways in the US and the state were closed due to floods, mudslides, rockslides, heavy snow, or auto and truck accidents. The closures included the northbound lanes of US 101, a major coastal highway, and sections of US 6 and State Route 168.
Ringo HW Chiu/AP
Drama unfolded across the state.
Evacuation orders have been issued in Santa Cruz County for about 32,000 residents who live near flooded rivers and creeks. The San Lorenzo River was declared in flood stage and drone footage showed several homes sitting in brown muddy water, the top halves of cars peeking out.
A 5-year-old boy disappeared in flood waters on Monday on the Central Coast. The boy’s mother was driving a truck when they were stranded in floodwaters near Paso Robles. Tom Swanson, assistant chief of the San Luis Obispo County Fire Department, said bystanders managed to free her, but the boy got out of the truck and was carried away, presumably into a river.
Officials said the nearly seven-hour search for the missing boy turned up only his shoes before they were hung up because water levels had become too dangerous for divers. Tony Cibula, a spokesman for the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, said the boy had not been declared dead. He said officials at CBS News will reassess weather conditions to see when they can resume the search.
Also in San Luis Obispo County, the sheriff’s office confirmed to CBS News that a driver was killed in floodwaters in Avila Beach on Monday.
Nick Corey/AP
About 130 miles to the south, about 10,000 people in Santa Barbara County were ordered to evacuate.
The National Guard was on standby in Wilton due to flood fears, CBS Sacramento Report.
California Highway Patrol office in Fresno chirp Video of the rockslide Monday at State Highway 168:
The entire seaside community of Montecito – home to Prince Harry, Oprah Winfrey and other celebrities – has been ordered to flee on their fifth anniversary. The mudslide killed 23 people and destroyed over 100 homes in the coastal enclave.
District officials ordered the evacuation of 20 homes in the Orkut district after floods and a cesspool damaged up to 15 homes.
Jimmy MacLeod’s property was under Montecito’s evacuation order, but she said there was no way for her to “get off the mountain” with a rushing creek on one side and a mudslide on the other. The 60-year-old owner of the Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary said one of her employees came in to deliver food weekly and also became stuck.
McLeod said she feels fortunate that her house is on higher ground and the energy is still standing. But she has had enough of repeated evacuation orders since a massive wildfire followed by a deadly landslide five years ago.
“It’s not an easy transition,” MacLeod said. “I absolutely love him, except in case of disaster.”
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Ellen DeGeneres shared a video on Instagram of herself standing in front of a raging creek near the Montecito home where she lives with his wife, actress Portia de Rossi. She said in the post that they were told to take cover because they were on higher ground.
“This is crazy,” the talk show host, wearing a hoodie and raincoat, says in the video.
Miles along the coast, another town, La Conchita in Ventura County, was evacuated. A mudslide killed 10 people there in 2005.
In the Santa Cruz Mountains on Monday, a PG&E worker captured a mudslide on video as it happened:
In Ventura County, the Ventura River has reached an all-time high of over 25 feet. Firefighters using helicopters rescued 18 people trapped on an island in the rushing waters:
The storm also washed up 3 feet of mud and rocks on State Highway 126, stranding long cars and large trucks. Crews worked into the night to get them released.
In Los Angeles, a stream swallowed two cars in the Chatsworth area Monday night, CBS Los Angeles reported. Authorities said two people fled themselves and firefighters rescued two others who had minor injuries.
A mudslide sent up to five feet of mud into the streets of neighborhoods in Studio City, The Los Angeles Fire Department said.
Tens of thousands of homes and businesses were without power, including about 17,000 late Monday night in the Sacramento area. The Sacramento Municipal Utilities District said the number of customers without service was down from more than 350,000 the day before after 60-mile-per-hour gusts knocked the majestic trees into power lines.
President Biden issued an emergency declaration Monday to support storm response and relief efforts in more than a dozen counties.
Much of California remains in a severe to severe drought, though storm surges have helped fill depleted reservoirs.
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