A new storm moved into Southern California Saturday, bringing heavy rain and winds, shutting down roads and freeways, threatening mud and debris flows in recent burn areas and prompting a flash flood warning for parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Coastal and valley areas received more than 1 inch of rain per hour during peak rainfall, according to the National Weather Service.
In the recent Woolsey Fire burn area, officials issued mandatory evacuation orders for Seminole Springs Mobile Home Estates in Agoura Hills and Paseo Canyon Malibu West in Malibu.
The city of Burbank issued voluntary evacuation orders for residents of Country Club Drive above Via Montana, beginning at 5 a.m. Saturday and continuing through at least 4 p.m. By Saturday afternoon, Walnut Avenue east of Sunset Canyon, and Harvard Road east of Bel Aire Drive, were closed to all except residents.
Authorities lifted all evacuation orders for the Woolsey fire zone and for Burbank around 5 p.m.
Meanwhile, evacuation centers were set up at the following locations:
— Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center, 27040 Malibu Hills Road;
— Santa Monica High School (South Gym), 601 Pico Blvd.;
— Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu.
The centers are accepting small animals, but large animals are being accepted at Pierce College, 6201 Winnetka Ave. in Woodland Hills, and at the Agoura Hills Animal Care Center at 29525 Agoura Road.
The 5 Freeway was closed in both directions for a few hours Saturday at Sheldon Street in Sun Valley due to flooding. As of 4 p.m., the southbound I-5 was still closed at Sheldon, and the three lanes of the northbound 170 Freeway were closed at Sherman Way, with no estimate on when they would reopen.
The CHP has also temporarily shut down the number one lane in the transition road from the San Diego (405) Freeway to the Ronald Reagan (118 ) Freeway in Mission Hills due to flooding. A SigAlert was issued and there was no estimate on how long the lane would remain closed.
Freeway flooding at least three feet deep forced the CHP to temporarily shut down the transition road from the Harbor (110) Freeway to the Hollywood (101) Freeway early this evening and issue a SigAlert.
Earlier, a section of Burbank Boulevard was closed for flooding at the 405 Freeway near Sepulveda Boulevard. In the Beverly Glen area, Coldwater Canyon was closed in both directions at Gloaming Drive.
At about 1:30 p.m., the following roads were closed in the Malibu area: Kanan Road from Pacific Coast Highway to Triunfo Road; PCH from the Ventura County Line to Kanan Road; Malibu Canyon between Piuma Road and Malibu Crest; Lindero Canyon between Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Blackbird Road, Kanan Dume road between Cavalleri Road and the Ventura (101) Freeway, northbound Decker road, Rainsford Place, Cuthbert between Busch Drive and Harvester Road, Clover Heights at Harvester Road and Harvester Road between Clover Heights and Cuthbert Road and Philip Avenue.
A flash flood advisory was issued through Sunday morning for the recent Woolsey Fire burn area.
In Garden Grove, Hazard Street was shut down between Ward and Brookhurst streets, as was Magnolia Street between Garden Grove Boulevard and Trask Avenue.
In Trabuco Canyon authorities have shut down Trabuco Canyon Road at Trabuco Creek due to the flash flood warning. Other road closures ordered by Orange County sheriff’s at Trabuco Canyon and Rose Canyon roads and Trabuco Canyon at Plano Trabuco roads.
Orange County sheriff’s also issued mandatory evacuation orders for the residents within the Trabuco Creek area. However, Orange county sheriff’s lifted all evacuation orders in Orange County about 7 p.m.
Trabuco is a small unincorporated area in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, just north of Rancho Santa Margarita.
In Anaheim a family of three narrowly escaped serious injuries Saturday when a tree toppled over their car as they were driving, a fire chief said. The oak tree fell as the family was heading south on Loara Street near Crone Avenue about 1:40 p.m., Anaheim Battalion Chief Kevin Stewart said.
Inside the car were a man, his pregnant wife and an elderly female relative. The man and his wife made their way out of the car but the other woman was trapped inside the vehicle for about 10 minutes, Stewart said.
“We had to cut away some limbs to get her out of the vehicle,” Stewart continued. “She suffered some minor injuries but was not transported to a hospital. The pregnant woman was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital for a checkup.”
“Given 1-3 inches of rain across (parts of Southern California) roughly 48 hours ago, along with the presence of a few recent burn scars, flash flooding, mudslides and debris flows appear likely,” the NWS said earlier. “This is a very dangerous situation for the terrain of Southern California sensitive to heavy rain impacts.”
Caltrans tweeted: “Do not try to pass through flood waters. 6 inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult, 12 inches of rushing water will carry away a small car, and 2 feet of rushing water will carry away most vehicles. Be smart. Be safe.”
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power tweeted at 1:17 p.m. that crews were working on restoring power in many areas of the city, including Hollywood, mid-Wilshire, Brentwood, San Pedro, Toluca Lake, Reseda and Studio City.
Los Angeles Fire Department officials reported the evacuation of two homes on Courtney Avenue in the Hollywood Hills due to mud flow, pending a new assessment by city inspectors. The homes previously were yellow tagged from a Jan. 17 mudslide.
Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia announced on its web site that the park was closed Saturday due to inclement weather. Disneyland announced that its main park in Anaheim would close at 10 p.m. instead of midnight.
Downed trees were reported in Toluca Lake, Laguna Beach and Glendale; some cars were damaged, but no injuries were reported.
A winter storm warning was in effect through early Sunday evening for the Los Angeles County mountains, excluding the Santa Monica Range.
The snow level was expected to be at 7,000 to 7,500 feet through Saturday morning and drop to around 6,000 feet by evening, to between 5,000 and 5,500 feet Sunday, according to an NWS statement.
Disruptions were also expected at lower elevations, including “significant wind impacts possible for Interstate 5 near the Grapevine, where very strong gusts of 70 to 80 mph will be possible.”
The bad weather was blamed for two vehicle accidents on the northbound 5 Freeway at Pyramid Lake, near the L.A. County-Kern County line, which sent nine people to the hospital and claimed the life of a search-and-rescue team member with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.
The storm hails from the Gulf of Alaska and taps into a band of moisture stretching from Hawaii to California as a low pressure system parks itself over California, NWS meteorologist Todd Hall said.
Substantial rain was expected to continue Saturday afternoon, with lingering showers through Sunday morning before another bout of rain moves in Monday and Tuesday.