Heavy rains unleashed mudslides with astonishing force in Forest Falls, Oak Glen and Yucaipa, California.
Cleanup efforts and damage assessments were underway Tuesday east of Los Angeles after heavy rains unleashed mudslides in a mountain area scorched by a wildfire two years ago, sending boulders across roads, carrying away cars and prompting evacuations and shelter-in-place orders.
"We have boulders that moved through that weigh multiple tons," Sherwin said. "It could take days just to find all the cars that are missing because they are completely covered by mud." For some homes in Forest Falls, it was too late to evacuate Monday and residents were told to shelter in place through the night because it was safer than venturing out.
The mudslides came after a week that saw California endure a record-long heatwave. Temperatures in many parts of the state rocketed past 100 degrees Fahrenheit , and pushed the state's electrical grid to the breaking point as air conditioners sucked up power. The Fairview Fire in Southern California and the Mosquito Fire burning east of Sacramento broke out and raged out of control.
Smoky skies from wildfires in many areas of the West caused air quality to deteriorate Monday, with dangerous levels of particulate pollution detected by government and private monitors in portions of eastern Oregon and Washington, Northern California, central Idaho and western Montana. In some areas, people were told to avoid all outdoor activity until the pollution cleared.