Winter storm buries Wrightwood, drenches SoCal: 'All it is is rock and mud,' resident says
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The Gamboa family isn’t quite sure how they’re going to get back into their home in Wrightwood.When a powerful atmospheric river began drenching Southern California this week, they were forced to leave as the hills around them dissolved into a river of mud and debris, which by Friday was drying and hardening into a 3-foot wall blocking their doors and windows.Since Wednesday, they’ve been staying with neighbors.They have no idea what the condition of the inside of their home is or how they’ll access it, said the homeowner, Robert Gamboa.“I’m trying to figure things out,” Gamboa said.
“All it is is rock and mud.”He believes his insurance will cover repairs to the house, but he’s not sure how he’ll cover the cost of cleanup and digging their home out of the debris.He and his family have started a GoFundMe page to cover the costs.
Like many others across the Southland, the Gamboas are waiting to assess the damage from the worst winter storm to hit Southern California in recent memory.In the last few days, the governor has declared emergencies in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Shasta counties as the toll of the persistent rain and snow has mounted.More than 10 inches of rain fell in parts of the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County during a 48-hour period ending Thursday.In the San Gabriel Valley, crews rescued a woman after she was swept away in the San Jose Creek near Fullerton Road and the 60 Freeway.At the Pacoima Wash in San Fernando, a person called 911 to report seeing a woman in the fast-moving waters, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.Crews were using markers to try to find the woman, who was wearing all black and traveling at 25 miles per hour in three feet of water.
They did not find her.California Scientists attribute these extreme weather swings to climate change, warning of intensifying “hydroclimate ...