After three days of heavy rain that triggered flash floods and mudslides across Southern California, the downpours eased on Friday, Dec. 26. Residents of the hard-hit mountain town of Wrightwood began digging out and assessing the damage to their homes. The storm drenched the greater Los Angeles area with up to six inches of rain, while lower-elevation mountains east of the city recorded 12 inches or more, according to the National Weather Service. The extreme rainfall, which started around Christmas Eve, was caused by the region’s latest atmospheric river—a dense flow of moisture from the Pacific carried inland.

Strong winds accompanied the downpours, toppling trees and power lines and causing widespread outages. Upper mountain areas also received heavy snowfall. Authorities had issued evacuation warnings for flood-prone neighborhoods, especially near hillsides previously affected by wildfires, and urged residents to avoid travel. While the rainfall was tapering off by Friday, flood watches remained in effect across much of Southern California.

In Wrightwood, a town of around 5,000 northeast of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Mountains, county safety inspectors began evaluating property damage. Several dozen homes were severely affected by mudflows on Wednesday, and officials remained on alert for additional debris flows, according to San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesman Ryan Beckers. “Evacuation warnings for Wrightwood are still in effect, and all roads are closed except for residents,” he said. Misty Cheng, 49, an accountant with a vacation home in Wrightwood, said she first learned her property was being engulfed by a mudslide when a neighbor sent her video footage. “My house is buried in over five feet of mud,” Cheng told Reuters from her main residence in nearby Upland.

Mud had entered her house through a crushed garage wall, filling the living room. By the time she returned to salvage belongings, the mud had hardened enough to stand on. She managed to recover personal items mostly from the second floor, which remained untouched, and started a GoFundMe page to fund repairs, as she did not have flood insurance.

Aerial footage from the fire department showed homes and vehicles coated in mud as crews worked to clear blocked roads. Emergency teams rescued around two dozen people trapped by high water and debris, though no serious injuries or deaths were reported in Wrightwood. The National Weather Service said Southern California was expected to dry out over the weekend, while a major winter storm threatened record snowfall in parts of New York state starting Friday night.