The downpour came as multiple other areas across Southern California saw heavy rainfall and winter weather that wreaked havoc for pedestrians.
One of the hardest hit areas was along the Los Angeles River, where seven inches of rain fell on Tuesday morning just northwest of the city, according to U.S. News and World Report.
A flash flood warning was issued for the area by the National Weather Service (NWS) that urged residents to act with caution. Despite this, a number of people with homes in the area were still trapped as the mudslides made their way downhill.
The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) tweeted Tuesday afternoon that “firefighters have rescued trapped residents,” but there were still a number of people trapped between canyons, unable to escape the raging rapids. OCFA also posted a video showing a series of mudslides making their way downhill, with residents unable to traverse.
The authority added an updated tweet around 10 minutes later, which stated that search operations were continuing, and firefighters “continue to rescue those who are trapped.”
The tweet added that Orange County had ordered the mandatory evacuations of Modjeska, Silverado, and Williams canyons, three areas that continued to see significant flooding. The evacuations were ordered due to what the county deemed a severe risk of damage from mudslide debris.
The immediate area of the mudslide is known as the Bond Fire burn area, the site of a massive wildfire in December 2020 that forced the evacuation of 25,000 residents.
The charred hillsides that remain from the wildfire were noted to cause the mudslides to move downhill at an ever speedier pace. Wilderness experts have stated that the ground has not had enough time to recover from the fire to provide adequate stopping power for the rapids.
“When they’re telling us two inches and we have charred hillsides, there’s no way that it’s going to hold,” Modjeska Canyon resident Sheryl Edgar told KCAL-TV. “We’ve just had a year. We barely have grass.”
OCFA also urged residents of the area to evacuate immediately, and urged those who needed assistance in evacuation to call for help. The authority added that attempting to cross the rapids by oneself could prove to be a dangerous proposition.
“As little as six inches of swift-moving water can take you off your feet so we don’t want any pedestrians in that moving water and we don’t want you crossing that in your vehicle,” said OCFA Captain Sean Doran.
Significant areas of rapid mudslides remain throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Los Angeles Fire Department stated that it had rescued two vehicles wedged against a pillar just south of downtown L.A., with a third being seen swept away.
Similar mudslides also occurred during periods of flooding in 2019 and 2018, with the latter being responsible for at least 23 deaths.
Newsweek has reached out to OCFA for comment.
