Tree trimmers remove a large eucalyptus tree that fell onto 7th Street in Long Beach on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. Several large trees fell in Recreation Park during the storm with this one blocking lanes at 7th Street and Park Avenue and taking down the traffic signal. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
A powerful winter storm drenched Los Angeles and Orange counties on Thursday, pummeling the region with rain and wind that led to widespread flooding and debris flows while dumping as much as five inches of rain on the San Gabriel Mountains.
Sandra Banuelos, 18, takes a ride on a tire swing over the beginnings of Trabuco Creek at the end of Trabuco Oaks Dr. in Trabuco Canyon, CA on Thursday, February 14, 2019. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People make their way through the Van Nuys Civic Center, in Van Nuys, Thursday, Feb 14, 2019. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News, SCNG)
A student walks among lowered table umbrellas at Santa Ana College in Santa Ana on Thursday, February 14, 2019 as a storm pelts Southern California with rain. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Greg Benner, left, of Anaheim watches water rush down Santiago Creek at Hart Park in Orange on Thursday, February 14, 2019 after rains pelted Southern California. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A worker unclogs a drain at Golden West College dodge the rain in Huntington Beach, CA, on Thursday, Feb 14, 2019. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Visitors at Golden West College dodge the rain in Huntington Beach, CA, on Thursday, Feb 14, 2019. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Visitors at Golden West College dodge the rain in Huntington Beach, CA, on Thursday, Feb 14, 2019. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Barricades block southbound Pacific Coast Highway at Warner Avenue during a rainstorm in Huntington Beach, CA, on Thursday, Feb 14, 2019. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Visitors at Golden West College dodge the rain in Huntington Beach, CA, on Thursday, Feb 14, 2019. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A visitors at Golden West College carries a Starry Night umbrella during the rain in Huntington Beach, CA, on Thursday, Feb 14, 2019. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Tree trimmers remove a large eucalyptus tree that fell onto 7th Street in Long Beach on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. Several large trees fell in Recreation Park during the storm with this one blocking lanes at 7th Street and Park Avenue and taking down the traffic signal. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
Detoured cars drive past one of several eucalyptus trees that fell in the rain in Recreation Park in Long Beach on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. One tree fell onto 7th Street blocking westbound lanes. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
A car aproaches a flooded section of Modjeska Canyon Road in Silverado on Thursday, Feb. 14 2019.
(Courtesy of OC Public Works)
Tree trimmers remove a large eucalyptus tree that fell onto 7th Street in Long Beach on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. Several large trees fell in Recreation Park during the storm with this one blocking lanes at 7th Street and Park Avenue and taking down the traffic signal. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
A flower vendor stays dry from the rain as he sells Valentines Day flowers along Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
Crews work on a 15-by-15-foot sinkhole on 35th Street and Palm Drive in Hermosa Beach on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. (Photo by Charles Bennett)
Water flows after a rain storm along the San Gabriel River as cars past the 605 Freeway on Thursday, February 14, 2019 in Downey, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
People make their way through the Van Nuys Civic Center, in Van Nuys, Thursday, Feb 14, 2019. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News, SCNG)
A squirrel tries to keep it’s feet dry as it leaps through a puddle of rain water at the Van Nuys Civic Center, in Van Nuys, Thursday, Feb 14, 2019. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News, SCNG)
People make their way through the Van Nuys Civic Center, in Van Nuys, Thursday, Feb 14, 2019. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News, SCNG)
People make their way through the Van Nuys Civic Center, in Van Nuys, Thursday, Feb 14, 2019. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News, SCNG)
Eric Stowers and Rob Toll, from left by cars, use a winch to position a tree in Trabuco Creek along Trabuco Oaks Dr. in unincorporated Orange County, CA on Thursday, February 14, 2019. They were moving the tree to slow the erosion that was undermining the road. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Local residents watch as Trabuco Creek flows over Trabuco Canyon Road in Trabuco Canyon, CA on Thursday, February 14, 2019 following heavy rains. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Local resident Jay Parker checks out a swollen Silverado Creek near his house on Silverado Canyon Road in Silverado, CA on Thursday, February 14, 2019 following heavy rains. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The storm, laden with copious subtropical moisture, came ashore late Wednesday and by early Thursday had begun snarling the commute, soaking urban neighborhoods and highways and muddying swaths of rural landscapes, including some fire-scarred areas, that already have endured an unusually busy rainy season.
By midday, much of the storm’s force had made its way inland, said Kristen Stewart, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Temperatures hovered in the 50s and 60s.
Another storm from the northwest was forecast to pass through the region on Friday, but would be less powerful Stewart said.
Eric Stowers and Rob Toll, from left by cars, use a winch to position a tree in Trabuco Creek along Trabuco Oaks Dr. in unincorporated Orange County, CA on Thursday, February 14, 2019. They were moving the tree to slow the erosion that was undermining the road. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
In Orange County, evacuation orders for residents of the Holy Fire burn areas in Trabuco Creek, Rose Canyon and Mystic Oaks and El Cariso had been lifted b 5:30 p.m. Earlier in the day, officials had shut down a stretch of Live Oak Canyon Road in Trabuco Canyon when the storm flooded the street, taking down trees and sending rocks and logs tumbling.
The system dumped 3.9 inches of rain on Yorba Linda, 2 inches on Newport Beach and 3.9 inches on Lake Forest, according to the National Weather Service.
A 200-foot Orange County Flood Control District wall collapsed on Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach, prompting authorities to close the roadway, said police Sgt. Jim Cota said. Elsewhere, Ortega Highway was closed at Gateway Place and Pacific Coast Highway was closed south of Warner Avenue in Huntington Beach.
In Los Angeles County, mud and debris flowed onto Topanga Canyon Boulevard, forcing a closure of the road between Pacific Coast Highway and Grand View Drive and leaving a number of motorists stranded. Flood waters also temporarily closed a long stretch of Carbon Canyon Road in Brea, as well as a series of streets in Burbank hillside areas.
Rock falls were reported in Malibu Canyon, where at least two vehicles were struck by the falling debris, but no injuries were reported.
The storm brought 1.7 inches of rain to Los Angeles International Airport, 3.1 inches to Pasadena, 2.3 inches to Long Beach and 1.6 inches to Woodland Hills, according to the National Weather Service.
The storm toppled a eucalyptus tree near Recreation Park in Long Beach. The tree took down a power pole and crashed onto a parked car, but fortunately, a woman inside was not hurt, said Robert Belcher of the city’s Department of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Communications.
Long Beach also saw minor flooding along the 710 Freeway, but it receded with pumping, Belcher said.
In the South Bay, the rainfall triggered the formation of two gaping sinkholes in the beach cities, but police said no one was hurt.
A 15-by-15-foot sinkhole appeared sometime before Thursday morning on a sloping residential street in Hermosa Beach, said police Sgt. Chris Alkadis. Crews covered the cavity on 35th Street at Palm Drive with a large tarp. Palm Drive was closed at 35th, and 35th was closed from Hermosa Avenue to Manhattan Avenue.
Later, another sinkhole formed in a center median on Artesia Boulevard in front of Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach. Artesia was expected to remain closed from Peck Avenue to Meadows Avenue for up to two days for repairs, police said.
ROAD CLOSED DUE TO SINKHOLE-Public Works is currently working on resolving a sinkhole which formed in front of Mira Costa High School. The road is closed on Artesia Bl from Peck Ave to Stanford – eastbound and westbound traffic lanes are closed. We will advise when road reopens. pic.twitter.com/gQ0xfN2Eds
