California storm: Power outages and mudslides as deadly flooding sweeps through waterlogged state - CBS News

Several backstage levees successful Monterey County person been breached, prompting evacuation orders from the Monterey County Sheriff's Office.

The levees were privately owned and are not maintained by the county, CBS San Francisco reported.

To header with wide harm to its powerfulness grid, much than 5,000 PG&E workers were responding to storm-related issues, including crews brought successful from Southern California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Washington, Wisconsin and Canada, CBS San Francisco reported.

"This is the largest effect effort PG&E has ever assembled for a wintertime tempest event," PG&E COO Adam Wright said. 

Mudslides successful distant Matilija Canyon buried 1 location wholly and chopped disconnected the lone roadworthy to adjacent Ojai.  

"We're each stuck retired here," said Brian Briggs.

Briggs described a scary nighttime erstwhile the canyon creek began to flood people's yards and the surrounding hills — stripped of vegetation successful the 2017 Thomas Fire — began to tumble down successful the dark.

Mudflows dragged sheds, gazebos and outhouses into the creek, helium said. After helping neighbors get to higher ground, helium returned location to find his obstruction destroyed by waist-deep mud.

A chopper dropped 10 sheriff's deputies Tuesday to assistance the residents of dozens of homes successful the canyon and Briggs said helium was hoping to beryllium airlifted out.  

Solano County has issued a section exigency proclamation.

The Solano County Sheriff's Office said that the terrible upwind has led to downed trees and utilities, which person caused powerfulness losses and roadworthy closures.

 "We proceed to acquisition flooding of roadways and wide outages and volition person rainfall passim the remainder of the week with different atmospheric stream by precocious Friday, January 13, into adjacent week," the sheriff's bureau said successful a connection connected Tuesday. "Soil conditions stay saturated and further rains volition summation the likelihood of further harm passim the county. There is nary estimated outgo of harm presently and harm assessments are on-going."

Some forecasters are predicting arsenic overmuch arsenic 22 trillion gallons of h2o volition person fallen connected drought-stricken California erstwhile the storms are yet over. That's much than capable h2o to capable Lake Powell and Lake Mead, 2 large reservoirs.

But astir of the h2o won't beryllium captured successful reservoirs. It volition beryllium mislaid to runoff that goes to the ocean.

"The situation determination is getting the h2o from outfalls … oregon rivers and into the groundwater," said Jenny Pensky, a hydrogeologist astatine the University of California Santa Cruz. "And we conscionable don't rather person the infrastructure for that."

With each the sewage, bacteria and debris successful the tempest runoff, the h2o would besides person to beryllium treated earlier it could beryllium used.  

The California Department of Education announced that 427 nationalist and nationalist charter schools were closed statewide connected Tuesday, with 185,513 students missing schoolhouse arsenic the authorities deals with utmost upwind conditions.

The number does not see backstage schools.

The storm's decease toll reached astatine slightest 17 connected Tuesday, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom. That was an summation from the 14 reported deaths Monday.

Officials spent 7 hours Monday unsuccessfully searching for a 5-year-old lad who was swept distant successful floodwaters, turning up lone his shoe, CBS Los Angeles reported. The kid was swept from his mother's stranded motortruck downstream and apt carried into a river, said an authoritative with Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department.

A sinkhole opened up connected a roadworthy successful the Los Angeles vicinity of Chatsworth. Two radical were capable to fly arsenic it swallowed a car and a pickup truck. Firefighters rescued 2 others trapped successful their car by the sinkhole, which reached astatine slightest 15 feet heavy connected Monday.

In an aerial view, a car and a pickup motortruck are seen wrong a sinkhole arsenic different tempest created by a bid of atmospheric rivers inundates California connected January 10, 2023 successful Los Angeles, California. David McNew / Getty Images

This sinkhole appeared to deepen overnight, reported CBS Los Angeles, and the vehicles were inactive disposable Tuesday morning, albeit covered successful mud.

Firefighters said the sinkhole successful the suburban vicinity had compromised the full road.

A sinkhole besides damaged astatine slightest 15 homes successful Orcutt, successful Santa Barbara County, forcing evacuations, The Associated Press reported.

Officials ordered all residents of Montecito to evacuate Monday. The 8,600-person assemblage successful Santa Barbara County is known for its celebrated residents, who reportedly see Prince Harry and Meghan, shot prima Troy Aikman, vocalist Ariana Grande, actors Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow, Oprah, and comedian Larry David, among others. 

Creeks and roads were flooded, said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown successful the aftermath of Monday's decision, which helium said was "based connected the continuing precocious complaint of rainfall with nary denotation that that is going to alteration earlier nightfall." 

Schools successful the assemblage were closed Tuesday.

Jameson Lane successful Montecito is flooded a effect of San Ysidro creek overflowing amid dense rainfall successful the area. At near is the 101 Freeway that was closed to each vehicles heading north.  Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

One of Montecito's celebrated residents, comedian Ellen DeGeneres, took to Instagram connected Tuesday to amusement the raging creek adjacent to her house.

DeGeneres said that the creek, which "never flows, ever," is astir 9 feet higher than mean and is expected to emergence different 2 feet. She said that she is connected higher crushed and was told to structure successful spot during the community's evacuation.  

Some areas saw mudslides adjacent roads and screen cars starting Monday. In Ventura County, northbound of Los Angeles, mudslides trapped a large rig and different vehicles connected State Route 126, reported CBS Los Angeles. The Associated Press reported the rainfall washed 3 feet of mud and stone crossed the road.

Mudslides were feared successful galore California communities that saw evacuations, including Montecito, which marked the 5th day Tuesday of deadly mudslides that killed 23 radical and destroyed much than 100 homes, and successful Ventura County's La Concita, wherever 10 radical died successful a 2005 mudslide, The AP reported. Mudslides besides damaged homes successful the Hollywood Hills.

Montecito Summerland Fire Protection District responds to a rockslide wherever 2 500-gallon propane tanks were washed up successful Toro Canyon, connected Jan. 10, 2023 successful Summerland, California. Gary Coronado Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

A operator told KCAL News that a elevation collapsed and the mud surrounded his achromatic Audi astatine astir 2 a.m. section clip Tuesday, leaving him stuck adjacent Mulholland Drive successful Los Angeles connected Tuesday morning.

The powerfulness was retired for astir 150,000 California customers arsenic of Tuesday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks U.S. outages.

While astir of those were customers of PG&E, which serves much than 5 cardinal customers successful the bluish and cardinal parts of the state, municipal utilities successful Los Angeles and Sacramento each reported much than 10,000 without power.

The tempest didn't conscionable bring rainfall — higher elevations saw snow, and plentifulness of it. The California Highway Patrol closed portion of I-80 connected Tuesday greeting amid precocious winds and whiteout conditions.

Those inches pushed the statewide snowpack to 215% of mean arsenic of Tuesday, according to the state's Department of Water Resources — and astir to the mean for the archetypal 4th of the year.

"Heavy upland snowfall and gusty winds volition bring periods of whiteout conditions with concatenation controls and apt roadworthy closures done tonight," according to the weather service's Sacramento office.

Mammoth Mountain was closed Tuesday "due to aggravated snowfall conditions and precise unsafe question successful the area," according to the resort's website. The edifice saw 32 inches of snowfall Monday and 22 inches connected Tuesday astatine its main lodge.

And different 18-36 inches could beryllium successful store for the University of California-Berkeley's Sierra Snow Lab, which saw much than 9 inches successful the past 24 hours.

Heavy snowfall was besides anticipated to proceed Tuesday nighttime astatine precocious elevations crossed the West, according to the National Weather Service, meaning immoderate areas could spot an further fewer feet of snow.