Rain brings floods, mudslides, closures to Southern California

An official of Forest Home Christian Conference Center in Forest Falls, Calif., inspects damage on the property following thunderstorms on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014. About 1,500 residents of Oak Glen, and another 1,000 residents of Forest Falls in the San Bernardino Mountains were unable to get out because the roads were covered with mud, rock and debris, authorities said. (AP Photo/The Press-Enterprise, David Bauman)

(CNS) – A storm that unleashed more than four inches of rain over the eastern San Gabriel Mountains in the span of an hour this afternoon caused mudslides and prompted the rescue of at least four people and a dog by a sheriff’s helicopter, authorities said.

The worst of the damage inflicted by the rain was in and near the communities of Mt. Baldy and Forest Falls in San Bernardino County, where cars were washed away, massive debris flows choked roadways, residents and campers were stranded and at least one person was rescued from floodwaters, according to reports from the scene.

On this side of the county line, a rock slide covering all lanes of the Angeles Crest Highway at mile marker 66 near Little Jimmy Road west of Wrightwood was reported around 4:15 p.m. and a smaller slide was reported a few minutes later on San Gabriel Canyon Road at Crystal Lake Road above Glendora, according to the California Highway Patrol.

A slide near the Mt. Baldy Fire Station, reported at 5:18 p.m., closed Mt. Baldy Road, the CHP reported.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning through 7 p.m. in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains.

Four to five people and dog became stranded by raging floodwater and were unable to reach their vehicle, Sgt. Rebecca Rodriguez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas Station said. They were airlifted to safety by a sheriff’s helicopter about 5:30 p.m., she said.

An overturned vehicle was found near the intersection of Bear Creek and Mt. Baldy roads, but no one was inside, Rodriguez said.