Updated at 5:51 p.m., Dec. 12, 2014
A storm brought fierce winds, heavy rain, snow and high surf to the Southland Friday, and evacuations prompted by the fear of flash flooding and mud slides were carried out in parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Two people — a husband and wife believed to be homeless — had to be rescued from the fast-moving Los Angeles River in the Atwater Village area, and a building collapse in Long Beach left four apartments uninhabitable.
A rare small tornado raced through a South Los Angeles neighborhood, sending debris and roofing materials flying and knocking a tree to the ground. Meanwhile, in Azusa, a torrent of mud rushed down a hillside and covered an outdoor basketball court.
The heavy rains set records in some areas, according to the National Weather Service, including:
— Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, where 1.22 inches fell, breaking the 2009 record for the day of 0.97 inches;
— Los Angeles International Airport, with 1.47 inches, breaking the 0.65 inch record set in 2011;
— Long Beach Airport, which had 1.54 inches, above the 2011 record of 0.88;
— Palmdale Airport, which had 1.1 inches, breaking the record of 0.82 set in 1951; and
— Lancaster, where 1.09 inches fell, breaking the 0.82 record, also set in 1951.
By late afternoon, much of the storm had moved on, although scattered pockets of rain lingered and forecasters warned that some areas could still experience sudden downpours.
In Glendora, where mandatory evacuations were imposed at 10 p.m. Thursday for residents living near the Colby Fire burn area, city officials reduced the order to a voluntary evacuation by mid-afternoon, although they were keeping a close watch on the sky.
An evacuation center was set up for residents at the Teen Center, 241 W. Dawson Ave.
The neighborhood near the burn area had been under voluntary evacuation orders since mid-morning Thursday due to fears of flooding and mud and debris slides.
Residents were also ordered to remove vehicles, trash bins and other obstructions from roadways. About 20,000 sandbags were made available for residents at the Glendora City Yard at 440 S. Loraine Ave.
Goddard Middle School at 859 E. Sierra Madre Ave. in Glendora and nearby St. Lucy’s Priory High School were both closed due to the storm. In Sierra Madre, Sierra Madre Elementary School was also closed because of a storm- related power outage, according to the Pasadena Unified School District.
A mandatory evacuation order was issued this morning for residents on the east side of Ridgeview Drive in Azusa, but it was later converted into a voluntary evacuation order. All evacuation orders were expected to be lifted at 6 p.m., according to Azusa police.
Residents in Orange County’s Silverado Canyon were also under mandatory evacuation orders for most of the day, but the area was spared from any damage. The evacuation orders were lifted by mid-afternoon.
The rain had a severe impact on the morning commute, with the California Highway Patrol reporting 239 crashes on Los Angeles County freeways between midnight and 10 a.m., compared with 50 crashes during the same period a week ago, when it did not rain.
The storm also triggered power outages. At one point, more than 25,000 Southern California Edison customers lost power in several communities in Los Angeles County, as did around 23,000 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers. Power was slowly restored over the course of the day.
The rain began falling around midnight, with heavy downpours hitting some areas throughout the night.
Strong winds also lashed the area overnight. Powerful gusts were recorded in much of Los Angeles County, including 73 mph at Camp Nine in the San Gabriel Mountains, 61 mph in Malibu Canyon, 57 mph at Poppy Park in the Antelope Valley, 54 mph at Topanga Hills, 38 mph at Avalon Airport and 50 mph in Saugus.
The storm prompted the Los Angeles County Fire Department to bolster its staffing levels, with an urban search-and-rescue team on standby, along with swiftwater rescue teams and canine search teams. Los Angeles County public works crews were also on standby with bulldozers and dump trucks.
Before the storm, Los Angeles city crews worked to clear storm drains throughout the city, particularly in the area near a massive fire that destroyed an under-construction apartment building downtown on Monday morning. The Los Angeles Emergency Operations Center was activated at midnight.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public works closed down several roads because of the rain, including a 4.6-mile stretch of Lake Hughes Road south of Elizabeth Lake Road due to the possibility of flooding from the Powerhouse Fire burn area in the Angeles National Forest. The road will remain closed until the street can be inspected.
Heavy surf also battered some Southland beaches. Forecasters said the high surf raised fears of beach erosion and flooding of low-lying areas and beachside parking lots.
The area will dry out over the weekend, with partly cloudy skies expected Saturday and Sunday, but more rain is in the forecast beginning Monday afternoon.
—City News Service