Heavy Rain Soaks Southland, Causes Dozens Of Crashes, Mudslides –

LOS ANGELES, CBSLA – The severe storm that hit Los Angeles County Thursday night and Friday morning created hazardous conditions for motorists and caused landslides in some burn areas, while other areas appeared to have been spared serious damage.

Over the past three days, the storm brought 5 inches of rain to East Pasadena and 5 inches to Culver City.

Bel Air, Woodland Hills and La Canada Flintridge received more than 1.5 inches of rain, while Downtown Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Burbank and Northridge received more than 1.25 inches of rain during the same period.

There were at least 50 reports about Desmond Shaw from Sky2 from late Thursday night to Sunday.

This is one of more than 50 accidents on our highways….with this, the HPC had to shut down all traffic on 5th Street South in Roxford. Sounds good, but it’s almost certainly rain-related. Hard to get here in Sylmar @CBSLA @KCBSKCALDesk pic.twitter.com/5ps9cQo0QO

– Desmond Shaw (@RoadSageLA) January 29, 2021

Early Friday morning, a large semi-trailer overturned on Interstate 10 in downtown Los Angeles and caught fire as the cab went off the road and swerved to the side of the road before hitting the ground.

The driver escaped unharmed.

Cherry Valley in Riverside County. January 29, 2021 (CBSLA).

Authorities were concerned about the possibility of landslides. The Eldorado burned a scar in Yucaipa, the Apple burned a scar in Cherry Valley, the Bobcat burned a scar in the San Gabriel foothills above Monrovia, and the Ranch 2 burned a scar in Azusa.

Route 39, in the foothills of Mount San Gabriel in Azusa, was closed Friday morning because of a landslide in which a vehicle ended up in muddy water.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office ordered mandatory evacuation Thursday morning of communities in the fire zone of El Dorado Mountain Home Village, Northeast Yucaipa and Glen Oak. They were put on evacuation alert shortly after 8 a.m. Friday morning.

A drainage pipe was installed in Monrovia to drain floodwaters from the Lynx fire area. Tractors and other cleanup equipment were deployed before the storm, and patrols watched for anything that might slip away.

By Friday morning, no dangerous mudslides had occurred in the residential areas of Monrovia, Azusa, Yucaipa or Cherry Valley despite the heavy rainfall.

Silverado Canyon in Orange County was a different story. The area, which suffered from the Silverado and Bond fires late last year, experienced several mudslides during the night from Thursday to Sunday. However, there were no injuries.

A winter storm brought heavy snowfall to Cajon Pass. Snowplows began clearing the road Friday morning. Visibility was poor and the highway was slippery, but Highway 15 remained open. Officers from the California Highway Patrol guided drivers through some of the more difficult sections.

Highway 5 through Grapevine, which was closed earlier this week, is open again. On Friday morning, however, it began to snow, and CTU officials escorted drivers along the 12-mile stretch, potentially closing the highway again.

A winter storm warning remains in effect until 3 p.m. Friday for the mountains, with a possible accumulation of 1 to 3 feet of snow above 6,000 feet, and wind gusts up to 55 mph.

A flood warning is in effect in most of Orange County until 4 p.m. Friday. Forecasters indicate that heavy rain is expected Friday morning, with a chance of thunderstorms and precipitation of one-half inch per hour.

“Numerous showers, snowfall in the mountains and a slight chance of thunderstorms are expected on Friday as the region is affected by a cold low pressure system,” the National Weather Service said. “Dry weather will prevail from Saturday to Monday as high pressure builds in the region.”