Southern California Braces for More Rain, Possible Mudslides
Little dry ground to be found in LA.
Dec. 21, 2010— -- From the mountains to the foothills, California residents are bracing for another round of heavy rains and threats of mudslides.
For the past week, residents faced relentless rainfall along with snow and high winds.
In the northern part of the state, the storm knocked out power to thousands of customers, according to local utility companies.
Southern California has been hit hard by heavy rains since the weekend – creating scores of accidents and residents preparing to evacuate.
"I was just driving and the wind was actually what pushed me and caused me to hit the pole," said motorist Raquel Funches.
On Monday, in Wrightwood a creek overflowed, flooded a half a dozen homes and forced some evacuations, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The famed Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu has been blocked with mudslides and rocks.
More Rain on the Way
Los Angeles can expect 3 to 6 more inches of rain through Wednesday.
Over the weekend, in Anaheim, Disneyland received about four inches of rain and Hollywood received more than five inches of rain - the most since the 1920's.
Lake Tahoe reported nearly nine feet of snow.
Flash flood warnings have been issued in several areas in Southern California as residents of mudslide-prone La Canada Flintridge remained vigilant.
In February, the area was hit with a mudslide that damaged or destroyed more than 40 homes, according to the Associated Press.
Residents barricaded homes with sandbags and K-rails as they prepared to leave if ordered to.
"Everybody is high on alert right now," resident Colin Mahoney told ABC News Los Angeles affiliate KABC over the weekend. "They're watching everything."
The rain forced Hollywood Park to cancel its final races Sunday after weather conditions "made it too risky for the racehorses to run," the Associated Press reported.
Storm Moves East
While California was pounded with rain, there were pileups in Spokane, Washington, as one car after another skidded helplessly into the snow mess on Monday.
Las Vegas and southern Utah are expected to receive another one to two inches of rain today.
Forecasters say the storm is moving east – bringing a white Christmas to places like Fargo, North Dakota and much of Minnesota.
ABC News' Mike Von Fremd and the Associated Press contributed to this report.