Over 50 People Rescued After Mudslide Traps Cars in California: 'The Mud Came Up Really Fast'

Mar. 15, 2025

Los Angeles firefighters were called to help several drivers stuck in mud and debris after rain fell over Southern California this weekend.According to theNational Weather Service office in Los Angeles, 24 vehicles and 53 people were “accounted for” after mudslides hit Pine Canyon Road in the Lake Hughes area on Sunday night. TheL.A. County Fire Departmentshared video showing a large amount of mud on the road and said their units arrived at the scene just after 7:40 p.m.“LACoFD units arrived to help with multiple cars stuck in mud & debris flow,” the department said in atweet. “The incident is still active. Red Cross has been notified along with Public Works.“CBS affiliate KCBS alsoshowed footageof cars trapped in the thick debris.PerKTLA, no injuries were immediately reported during the incident. The news station said tow trucks worked overnight to pull vehicles from the mud.“That mud came up really fast up around the headlights, and so they all kind of needed help out of their vehicles,” an L.A. County Fire Department official told theLos Angeles Times.In a tweet, theL.A. County Fire Department Air Operations Sectionsaid they used Firehawk helicopters and night-vision technology to “rescue 8 adults and 6 children” from five different places across miles of the flooded section of Pine Canyon Road following a thunderstorm.Over the weekend, Southern California felt the effects of Tropical Storm Kay, which did not make landfall in the state but caused rainfall, strong winds, and debris flow, theLos Angeles Timesreported.A flash-flood warning remained in effect for certain parts of Southern California on Monday, per the outlet.As theTimesnotes, a tropical storm coming within striking distance of California isn’t something that happens often.RELATED VIDEO: Police Rescue ‘Struggling’ Father and Son Who Were Found Clinging to Cooler After Their Boat Sank"Seeing intact tropical cyclones this far north and east along the Pacific Coast of North America is quite rare,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain wrote on hisWeather Westwebsite.He added: “There are only a couple of other examples in living memory in which tropical storm or greater strength storms have gotten this close to SoCal.”

Los Angeles firefighters were called to help several drivers stuck in mud and debris after rain fell over Southern California this weekend.

According to theNational Weather Service office in Los Angeles, 24 vehicles and 53 people were “accounted for” after mudslides hit Pine Canyon Road in the Lake Hughes area on Sunday night. TheL.A. County Fire Departmentshared video showing a large amount of mud on the road and said their units arrived at the scene just after 7:40 p.m.

“LACoFD units arrived to help with multiple cars stuck in mud & debris flow,” the department said in atweet. “The incident is still active. Red Cross has been notified along with Public Works.”

CBS affiliate KCBS alsoshowed footageof cars trapped in the thick debris.

PerKTLA, no injuries were immediately reported during the incident. The news station said tow trucks worked overnight to pull vehicles from the mud.

“That mud came up really fast up around the headlights, and so they all kind of needed help out of their vehicles,” an L.A. County Fire Department official told theLos Angeles Times.

In a tweet, theL.A. County Fire Department Air Operations Sectionsaid they used Firehawk helicopters and night-vision technology to “rescue 8 adults and 6 children” from five different places across miles of the flooded section of Pine Canyon Road following a thunderstorm.

Over the weekend, Southern California felt the effects of Tropical Storm Kay, which did not make landfall in the state but caused rainfall, strong winds, and debris flow, theLos Angeles Timesreported.

A flash-flood warning remained in effect for certain parts of Southern California on Monday, per the outlet.

As theTimesnotes, a tropical storm coming within striking distance of California isn’t something that happens often.

RELATED VIDEO: Police Rescue ‘Struggling’ Father and Son Who Were Found Clinging to Cooler After Their Boat Sank

“Seeing intact tropical cyclones this far north and east along the Pacific Coast of North America is quite rare,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain wrote on hisWeather Westwebsite.

He added: “There are only a couple of other examples in living memory in which tropical storm or greater strength storms have gotten this close to SoCal.”

source: people.com