After months of drought fresh rain brought massive flooding, mudslides to SoCal

Flash flooding sent water, mud and rocks rushing across Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles Thursday, stranding hundreds of vehicles and closing the major north-south thoroughfare. The flooding at Fort Tejon, about 75 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, was part of a storm system that brought downpours across a wide swath of northern Los Angeles County. A second highway was closed Thursday night following a separate mudslide. A number of secondary roads were also left impassable from mud, and some residents were trapped in their homes. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries from the flooding that began just before the afternoon commute. Photos of Interstate 5 posted on social media showed the freeway in disarray, with semi-trucks and cars sitting askew, stuck in mud that in some cases surpassed their wheels. Not an inch of asphalt was visible. One of the worst-hit areas was Lake Hughes. Robert Rocha, a 37-year-old resident, said he was driving home from work when the storm arrived. The latest on a storm in Southern California that has caused flooding A second California highway has been closed after a mudslide spread debris onto the roadway following a storm that brought large swaths of rain across the region. State Route 58 in Kern County was closed Thursday evening near Mojave, Calif., about 95 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. Just hours before, a separate mudslide shutdown both directions of Interstate 5, the major north-south freeway. No information on how many drivers were stranded was immediately available. In a statement, the California Department of Transportation said it expected the State Route 58 shutdown would be "a long term closure" and advised motorists to seek alternative routes. Emergency crews were expected to work through the night to clear the highways.