500 evacuations ordered after thunderous mudslides sweep away cars, damage homes north of LA

500 evacuations ordered after mudslides near LA

LOS ANGELES — Fire officials say at least 41 homes have been damaged and 500 more ordered evacuated after a pounding winter storm triggered mudslides in wildfire burn areas north of Los Angeles.

County Fire Insp. Matt Levesque says evacuations are ordered in foothill areas of La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta and some parts of Acton.

Levesque says an evacuation center has been set up at La Canada Flintridge. The Red Cross is working to establish other locations to shelter displaced residents.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Thunderous mudslides swept away cars and pushed furniture out of homes and into the street in the foothills north of Los Angeles Saturday as an intense winter storm brought down hillsides in wildfire burn areas.

Up to ten homes and dozens of vehicles were seriously damaged and mandatory evacuation orders were in place for some homes in the La Canada Flintridge area after heavy rains overflowed debris basins, carried away cement barricades and swept cars into storm drains.

“We’ve got crews going door to door to tell residents to get out,” said Los Angeles County Fire Insp. Frederick Stowers. “Some of the roads up there are a complete mess.”

At least a foot of debris was reported in some houses. Family photographs, furniture and other personal items were spotted among the rocks and debris that flowed into yards and streets.

Leslie Fernandes, 49, said he awoke in his La Canada Flintridge home just before 5 a.m. to a thunderous rain. “I heard a roar and a rumble and I went to look outside and there were cars swept down the street,” Fernandes said.

A retaining wall on his property burst and 2 feet of mud was piled on his driveway, topped with a layer of ash from last summer’s wildfires.

Fernandes said he ignored an evacuation order to stay and try to divert the debris flow away from his house and into his empty swimming pool.

“I’m glad I didn’t leave otherwise we’d really be in trouble,” he said.

Down the street, Steve Brown, 52, said he helped a neighbor escape her mud-filled home after she was trapped upstairs.

“There were logs floating in her living room,” Brown said.

Crews used bulldozers and other heavy equipment to clear masses of mud and rocks that blocked suburban streets and intersections.

No injuries were reported as a result of the mudslides.

A heavy downpour at sunrise followed a steady overnight rain of nearly 2 inches in a mountainous 250-square-mile scarred by wildfires last summer. The National Weather Service warned of floods likely in foothill areas of Santa Anita, Sierra Madre, Arcadia and Monrovia.

Widespread flooding and downed trees tied up traffic and caused accidents across Los Angeles County.

A section of the Long Beach Freeway was shut down early Saturday because of high water.

Water almost a foot deep flowed into businesses on Melrose Avenue. To the east, Topanga Canyon Boulevard was closed by a rock slide just north of Pacific Coast Highway, and scattered rocks and mud fell on roads in Malibu.

Scattered power outages affected more than 10,000 customers in the Los Angeles area.

By midmorning, the rain had moved east, but forecasters said another storm system was expected Saturday afternoon.

Associated Press Writer Christopher Weber contributed to this report.