YUCAIPA, Calif. (AP) — Sudden heavy rain east of Los Angeles unleashed mudslides that plowed into homes and trapped drivers for hours on roadways while floodwaters swept away a vehicle carrying a father who was later rescued and his-2-year-old son who drowned, authorities said Friday.
Authorities rescued 10 people traveling in at least six vehicles who were stranded on state Route 38 in the area of Jenks Lake, near the San Bernardino National Forest, the fire district said. The route is narrow and winds through towering trees, curving back and forth up the mountainside and linking cities east of Los Angeles with the resort town of Big Bear Lake.
No one was hurt, and no one is reported missing, Christopher Prater, a public information officer for the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, said Friday.
Elsewhere in San Bernardino County, a 2-year-old boy drowned after his family’s vehicle was swept off the road by floodwaters Thursday night in Barstow, according to a statement from the city. The boy’s father was separated from his son as they were both swept away by the water, and he was later rescued, according to officials. The boy’s body was found Friday.
The mudslides affected the tiny mountain communities of Forest Falls, Oak Glen and Potato Canyon, the county’s fire protection district said in a statement. One home in Forest Falls had giant tree trunks flung in its yard and piled so high they reached the roof.
Forest Falls was walloped by mudslides three years ago. That was just two years after wildfires ripped through the area, leaving burn scars, or areas where there is little vegetation to hold the soil.
Intense rains pounded the area for more than an hour Thursday afternoon as remnants of Tropical Storm Mario reached the mountainous region, the National Weather Service said.
Kael Steel told KNBC-TV he was driving down the mountain from Big Bear to head to an amusement park when the rain started pounding.
“Suddenly we started seeing rocks and stuff coming down the side of the mountain,” he said.
Steel said cars were turning around telling him the road was blocked. So he headed back up the mountain, but was blocked again. He turned around once more and said the road he had crossed 30 seconds earlier had been wiped away.
“There’s no road there anymore,” he said.
The route was still closed as of Friday, the California Highway Patrol said.