A powerful winter storm swept across California on Wednesday, with heavy rains and gusty winds bringing debris flows that have led to some water rescues and evacuation orders.
Forecasters said Southern California could see its wettest Christmas in years and warned about flash flooding and mudslides. Some areas scorched by January’s wildfires were under evacuation orders, and Los Angeles County officials said Tuesday they delivered about 380 evacuation orders to especially vulnerable homes.
Early Wednesday, the L.A. Fire Department said firefighters rescued a man trapped in a drainage tunnel in northwest LA that led down to a river. No injuries were reported, but the man is being evaluated.
Several roadways across the regions were closed due to flooding.
Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images 
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Wednesday for L.A., Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Shasta counties, saying this would enable them to activate emergency authorities and pre-position resources.
Storms began to move in late Tuesday evening and intensified on Christmas Eve. Authorities said the millions of people expected to travel across the state would likely meet hazardous, if not impossible, conditions as several atmospheric rivers were forecast to make their way through the state, the National Weather Service warned.
Conditions could worsen as multiple atmospheric rivers move across the state during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year, according to forecasters. The storm in L.A. strengthened throughout the day Wednesday, but was forecast to taper off later in the evening.
An atmospheric river is a long, narrow band of water vapor that typically forms over an ocean in the tropics. Strong winds create a funnel for the vapor that transports it north or southward, often targeting the California coast, where it is released as rain or snow on land, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Wind gusts exceeded 60 mph in Los Angeles County, knocking down trees and power lines, Ariel Cohen, National Weather Service meteorologist in charge, said, according to CBS Los Angeles. She urged “everyone to take these warnings and messages seriously as the accumulative effects of the rain will result in increasingly dangerous and life-threatening conditions as we head through the holiday time period.”
Malibu resident Claire Hamano told CBS Los Angeles on Monday that she was concerned the storm could potentially cause landslides near her home. She was filling her car with sandbags at one of the county’s distribution sites in preparation.
“If there are landslides, let’s say on the PCH, we won’t be able to get out … that’s kind of my biggest fear,” said Hamano. “I’m trying to prevent mud from flowing onto the street on my property.”
Southern California typically gets half an inch to 1 inch of rain this time of year, but this week many areas could see between 4 and 8 inches, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said. It could be even more in the mountains. Gusts could reach 60 to 80 mph in parts of the central coast.
In addition to power outages and downed trees, officials also said the storms are expected to cause multiple road closures and airport delays.
Evacuation orders across Southern California
Parts of L.A. and Orange counties in burn scar areas affected by recent wildfires were under evacuation orders, CBS Los Angeles reports.
Many people in burn scar areas decided not to leave after receiving an evacuation notice, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said. He urged them to reconsider.
“The threat posed by this storm is real and imminent,” McDonnell said, a warning echoed by L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna.
“If you decide to stay in your home in an evacuated area…it could be difficult to leave once the storm begins,” Luna said Tuesday.
Los Angeles County put up K-rails, a type of barrier, around a burn scar to help catch sliding debris during rainstorms. Residents could also pick up free sandbags to protect their homes, said Kathryn Barger, a Los Angeles County supervisor representing Altadena, much of which was torched by the devastating Eaton Fire last January.
Brinda Kimpton, whose home survived the Eaton Fire, told CBS News she was growing nervous about the rains, but despite calls to evacuate, had decided to ride out the storm for the time being.
“The mud debris came down, and it’s breached the K-rails,” she said Wednesday, later adding that “it’s been a hell of a year.”
Local and state officials are gearing up to respond to emergencies through the week. The state has deployed resources and first responders to a number of counties along the coast and in Southern California. The California National Guard is also on standby to assist.
L.A. County mountain community hard-hit by storm
San Bernardino County firefighters said Wednesday they rescued people trapped in their cars when mud and debris rushed down a road leading into Wrightwood, a mountain resort town in the San Gabriel Mountains about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles. It’s not immediately clear how many were rescued.
San Bernardino County Fire Department 
Debris and mud were seen cascading down a local road in a video posted by county fire officials. Another video showed fast-moving water rushing through the front porch of several homes.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department issued a shelter in place order for Wrightwood on Wednesday afternoon. Highway 2 leading into Wrightwood was washed out due to flooding, the San Bernardino Fire County Fire Department reported.
The storm stranded Dillan Brown with his wife and 14-month-old daughter at a rented cabin in Wrightwood on Wednesday with almost no food and only enough diapers for about another day. By the morning, the roads leading off the mountain — and to a grocery store — were already blocked by rocks and debris, Brown said.
“I came across (a road) where there was a car sucked away by the water and realized we were trapped here,” Brown said.
A local resident learned of his situation and posted a call for help in a Facebook group. In less than an hour, neighbors showed up with more than enough supplies to ride out the storm — bread, vegetables, milk, diapers and wipes, he said.
“I think we’re a little sad and upset that we’re not going to be home with our families,” Brown said, but the “kindness shown is definitely an overwhelming feeling.”
A 2024 wildfire left the region with a lot of ground without tree coverage, said Janice Quick, president of the Wrightwood Chamber of Commerce who has lived in the mountain town for 45 years.
“All this rain is bringing down a lot of debris and a lot of mud from the mountain area,” she said.
Residents around the burn scar zones from the Airport Fire in Orange County were also ordered to evacuate Wednesday morning.
Northern California flood watch
The storm has already caused damage in Northern California, where flash flooding led to water rescues and at least one death, authorities said.
Much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area were under a flood watch and a high wind warning through Friday. Forecasters warned of heavy snow and said gusts were expected to create “near white-out conditions” Wednesday in parts of the Sierra Nevada and make it “nearly impossible” to travel through the mountain passes.
The National Weather Service said a winter storm warning would be in effect for the Greater Tahoe Region until Friday morning.
More than 125,000 people lost power as of Wednesday morning due to a damaged power pole, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
There’s also a risk of severe thunderstorms and a small chance of tornadoes along the northern coast.
Shasta County Sheriff Michael L. Johnson on Monday declared a state of emergency to prepare for more rain and allow the state to help with hazard mitigation and search and rescue operations.