This Article is From Dec 12, 2014

California Storm Hits South After Drenching North

California Storm Hits South After Drenching North

A car and shopping cart are submerged in water at a flooded shopping center in Healdsburg, California (Associated Press photo)

Los Angeles: A dangerous storm system blamed for two deaths in Oregon, thousands of power outages in Washington and flooded roadways in the Bay Area that kept many from work and school pushed into Southern California on Friday, causing mudslides and evacuations.

Avalanches of mud and debris blocked part of the Pacific Coast Highway in Ventura County, National Weather Service specialist Stuart Seto said.

He said heavy rain was falling in Ventura County as well as western Los Angeles County, where possible flash flooding was a concern.

The brunt of the storm was expected to move into the Los Angeles area shortly before dawn, Seto added.

Precautionary evacuations brought on by fear of mudslides began late Thursday in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendora, where the foothills were stripped bare by a major wildfire this year.

The storm's powerful winds caused power outages around Santa Barbara and other parts of the coast, and forecasters predicted the winds would continue to pick up speed.

On Thursday, the center of the storm and its torrential rains hit the San Francisco Bay Area and the surrounding region, pushing waterways toward flood stage, toppling trees and cutting power to thousands.

" In Oregon, the winds proved deadly. A falling tree killed a homeless man who was sleeping on a trail, and a teenage boy died after a large tree fell on the vehicle in which he was riding, causing it to swerve and hit another tree.

Falling trees also injured a man in southwest Washington and a sixth-grader at an elementary school in Santa Cruz, California.

The system's powerful winds temporarily knocked out power to more than 150,000 customers in western Washington.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. crews worked to restore power to 110,000 people, down from 166,000 earlier Thursday.
.