Southern California mudslides damage homes, carry away cars

Paul Burgess of the California Geological Survey examines the damage in the aftermath of a mudslide Tuesday in Oak Glen. Pic/AP

Rescuers searched for a person missing in a mudslide Tuesday as big yellow tractors plowed through dark, thick sludge and pushed boulders off roads after flash floods swept dirt, rocks and trees down fire-scarred slopes, washed away cars and buried buildings in small mountain communities in Southern California.

With thunderstorms forecast and more mudslides possible into Wednesday, evacuation orders remained in place in parts of the San Bernardino Mountains while a wildfire raging 500 miles (805 kilometres) to the north forced residents to abandon their homes.

The Mosquito Fire burning 110 miles (177 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco erupted in the afternoon just hours after officials had reported making "great strides" in the battle.

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"We have all hands on deck," fire spokesperson Chris Valenzuela said as the fire burned near Todd Valley and Foresthill. "It's burning very erratic and intensely." The blaze was one of three large fires in the state. East of Los Angeles, crews searched street by street for people who might be trapped by mudflows that washed rocks, trees and other debris with astonishing force the day before into Forest Falls, Oak Glen and Yucaipa and left a muddy mess and untold destruction.

Homes and other buildings were damaged, including a commercial building buried so high its roof collapsed, said Eric Sherwin, spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. "We have boulders that moved through that weigh multiple tons," Sherwin said. "It could take days just to find all the cars that are missing because they are completely covered by mud." The mud flows and flash flooding occurred in parts of the San Bernardino Mountains where there are burn scars - areas where there's little vegetation to hold the soil - from the 2020 wildfires.

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