Name: Her Altadena home survived a wildfire, now she faces mudslides
Uploaded: 2025-12-25T03:06:56.082Z
Duration: 3 min 49 s
Description: The hills of Altadena, California, scorched at the beginning of this year by a wildfire, are now sliding amid heavy rain. Andres Gutierrez spoke to one homeowner who plans to ride out the storm. Andrew Kozak has the forecast.

The hills of Altadena, California, scorched at the beginning of this year by a wildfire, are now sliding amid heavy rain. Andres Gutierrez spoke to one homeowner who plans to ride out the storm. Andrew Kozak has the forecast.

Altadena

Severe storms have struck Southern California, bringing heavy rain, mudslides, and flooding to areas recently affected by wildfires. In Altadena, resident Brenda Kempton, whose home survived the Eaton fire, now faces the threat of mud and debris breaching protective barriers as officials urge evacuations.

Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in six counties, allowing rescue teams to be prepositioned. Meteorologists warn that the atmospheric river will continue to bring intense rainfall, strong winds, and potential travel delays, with over 41 million people across California, Arizona, and Nevada under flood watch through the end of the week.

Her Altadena home survived a wildfire, now she faces mudslides

Good evening, everyone. I'm Major Garrett. Heavy rain and snow, powerful winds, mudslides and flooding. They were not on anybody's Christmas wish list, certainly not those traveling for the holiday, but that is what Californians are facing. In fact, officials are urging them to reconsider traveling. In some parts of the area, it could be dangerous. We have reports tonight on the storms, the travel challenges, and the latest forecast for the holiday. First, Andres Gutierrez in Southern California, where the governor today declared a state of emergency. Andres? Good evening, Major. There is a break in the rain, but across Southern California, it's been coming down an inch an hour. These are the so-called K-rails that the county installed as a preventative measure to keep mud and debris from flowing into homes. And just before dawn today, they were put to the test. The hills of Altadena, scorched this year by wildfire, are now sliding. Despite mud flows and calls to evacuate, Brenda Kempton is riding out the storm. The mud debris came down, and it's breached the K-rails. Her home survived the Eaton fire. She's growing nervous about the flood. Is this storm as they advertised? Yes, it's a whopper. When the rain moved into Southern California, it just kept falling, steady and intense at its peak. I have never seen a flash flood warning this widespread all happening at the same time. CBS News Los Angeles meteorologist Paul D'Anno. So, so much of Southern California, landslides and mudslides are imminent right now. Some of the worst damage unfolded throughout the day in the mountain community of Wrightwood, population 5,000. Numerous homes were flooded. Roads became impassable. Elsewhere in Southern California, powerful winds blew down trees. Streets were washed away. This storm channel, normally dry, became a torrent, with a million gallons a minute flowing through. Of the numerous Christmas Eve crashes, none tell the story of the impact today quite like this mangled FedEx truck filled with packages. But it's the human toll and resilience that weighs the most on Brenda Kempton's mind. It's a wonderful community. It's special. I think a lot of people feel that way about their communities, but this is like a hidden gem. You started the year with these wildfires. You're capping the year with this atmospheric river. What do you make of that? It's been a hell of a year. And this afternoon, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a state of emergency in six counties allowing crews to preposition rescue teams and equipment if needed, Major. Andres Gutierrez, thank you so much. Now, meteorologist Andrew Kozak of CBS News Philadelphia. He has the forecast for the hours and the days ahead. Andrew? Major, it's like California is a sponge that you're running a faucet on. It just can't handle that water, and we're seeing more of that as we head into the day tomorrow. In fact, Christmas Day is going to bring us that atmospheric river that continues to send waves of moisture system after system. And it's not just the wind and the rain together. It's the severe weather potential. We even had wind gusts in Los Angeles County today over 75 miles per hour, even a tornado warning with no confirmed tornado. This will continue. By the way, if you have any flights coming up with the busy travel couple of days that we have, we likely are going to see major delays for places like Los Angeles and San Francisco, the major hubs there, over 41 million people across California, portions of Arizona and Nevada under a flood watch tonight. And that continues all the way through the end of the week. We have excessive rain that will continue. The colors get a little lighter, which is better. Better news as we head toward the end of the week. And by the way, we are talking about Christmas tomorrow. Many areas across the midsection of the country, 20 to 30 degrees above average. Warm for a lot of folks tomorrow. Very warm indeed. Andrew Kozak, great to have you with us.

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