Powerful storm slams West Coast, prompting evacuations in parts of Los Angeles scarred by deadly wildfires
A powerful March storm has been lashing the West Coast with heavy rainfall, gusty winds and snowfall in the mountains –– shifting southward and posing a particular threat to communities scorched by the deadly Los Angeles wildfires from the start of the year.
Evacuation warnings were issued for parts of Los Angeles County on Wednesday, with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass warning that burn areas from the January fires at greater risk of debris flows and stormwater runoff from the rainfall and may contain hazardous substances.
'While we prepare for another storm headed towards LA, I want to urge Angelenos to stay vigilant, especially in burn scar areas,' Bass said in a statement. 'My number one job is to keep Angelenos safe, so please heed all evacuation warnings, stay vigilant and stay informed.'
'The risk of mudflow and landslides is real,' Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a news conference Wednesday, adding that fire-impacted communities 'need to be on alert.'
The Los Angeles Police Department on Wednesday visited and issued evacuation orders to 133 houses, according to the mayor.
More than 20 million people across Southern California are under flood watches until Thursday afternoon, with the Weather Prediction Center issuing a level 2 or 4 warning for excessive rainfall in parts of the region.
The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services said Wednesday it has positioned rescue personnel and equipment in 11 counties where heavy impact from the storm is expected, including Los Angeles County.
Twenty-four-hour, 360-degree live-stream cameras have also been placed in burn scar areas for the public to monitor potential threats of debris flow.
In Santa Barbara, a shelter-in-place has been set up for places associated with the Lake Fire burn scar, with the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management warning those affected to retreat 'to innermost room or higher ground such as a second floor' in the event of debris flows and rockslides.
The storm, which began to impact Northern California Wednesday, has brought minor flooding to Alameda County and pockets of rainfall up to 2 inches across much of the region, including the greater San Francisco and Sacramento areas.
These areas experienced wind gusts as high as 60 mph reported, which led to downed trees and caused thousands to lose power. The worst effects, however, have subsided, with wind alerts expired for San Francisco and alerts for Sacramento to expire Thursday morning.
The Sierra Nevada mountain range could see snowfall rates over 2 inches per hour through Thursday morning.
This storm will continue its trek across the country Thursday, bringing rain and mountain snowfall to much of the Rockies, fire weather to the Central and Southern Plains and eventually severe weather to parts of the Southeast.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN's Robert Shackelford contributed to this report.
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