Drivers are being warned to remain alert for potential debris-related dangers this week after heavy rain pelted the region on Saturday, triggering mudslides, felled trees and flooding.
A Los Angeles city official said dozens of trees were toppled on Saturday, according to Rose Schoenfeld, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The weather agency has not verified the total.
“In the past 24 hours, we saw around a half an inch up to close to two inches (of rainfall) across the LA Metro area and that was able to cause a pretty good amount of flooding concerns, roadway issues and rock and mud on the road,” Schoenfeld said Sunday morning.
The county will continue to see showers into the week as another storm hits the area. Shoenfeld said that while the rainfall will not be as widespread, there may be heavier downpours in some areas.
“These showers might also come with a little bit stronger storms and so local areas might see gusty winds, chance for lightning and such,” Schoenfeld said. “And we want to emphasize that with everything being so saturated, trees and things like that might come down a lot more easily.”
Because of the already waterlogged condition of the county, it will not take much rain to cause major flooding and other damage, she added.
Saturday brought some unusual scenarios: Children in the Long Beach community of Naples kayaking through the flooded streets, a massive tree crushing a car in Altadena, someone trying to make an ice cream delivery getting stuck in the mud in Woodland Hills, and a couple of sinkholes seen in Pasadena, according to TV reports.
The bulk of the heavy rain had moved on by 2 p.m. Saturday. Rainfall totals ranged from 2 inches in greater Los Angeles to roughly 6 inches in the northern parts of the county, according to the National Weather Service.
Forecasters expected most of the area to receive between 3 and 6 inches of rain through the weekend. More rain is in the forecast for Monday, with clearing expected Tuesday and Wednesday.
Orange County has likely seen the worst of the storm, according to meteorologist Sebastian Westerink with the National Weather Service.
“There will be another round of more widespread rainfall tomorrow (Monday) evening. The chance for rain Wednesday looks rather low, but we could have more rain return Thursday into Friday,” Westerink said.
Westerink said, however, that the rainfall will be a fraction of what Orange County saw over the weekend – a significant amount for the time of year.
“Some areas in just this storm reached their entire average rainfall for the month,” he said. “It’s definitely not unheard of to have an atmospheric river storm this time of year, but we normally expect storms like this between January and March.”
Though the rainfall slowed in Orange County, the fallout created dangerous conditions.
One sad rescue in Fullerton involved a man trying to save two small dogs that reportedly had fallen into a storm drain near Orangethorpe Avenue on Saturday around 10 p.m.
A video by freelance news agency OC Hawk showed the man as he stood in the water clutching the dogs, with both of the canines wearing small harnesses after rescuers had arrived. But one dog somehow slipped out of its harness and was immediately swept into the flood control channel. The shocked, anguished man could be seen crying out for the little dog as it disappeared into the watery blackness.
Only one of the dogs was saved, a Fullerton fire battalion chief said later. The man, obviously bereaved, was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Then, at shortly before 7 a.m. on Sunday, a man was rescued from a water-filled channel in Buena Park on Beach Boulevard near 11th St. after being swept over a mile downstream in fast-moving water, said Sean Doran, spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority.
The man was stranded on a ledge above the channel.
“A good Samaritan heard him calling for help and safely dropped a rope to keep him secure until crews arrived,” Doran said. “Our firefighters, including swift water rescue resources pre-positioned for the weather event, quickly brought him to safety using the fire truck’s aerial ladder.”
He was transported to a nearby hospital to be checked.
Rescued from the water’s edge.
Firefighters rescued an adult male stranded on a ledge above a channel in @BuenaParkCA this morning after he was swept more than a mile downstream in fast-moving water and managed to climb out. pic.twitter.com/SdacBH49v5
— OCFA (@OCFireAuthority) November 16, 2025
Elsewhere in Orange County, evacuation warnings were lifted by Sunday for areas near the Airport Fire burn area, including Trabuco Creek, Hot Springs Canyon and Bell Canyon. Pacific Coast Highway, from Warner Avenue to Seapoint Street in Huntington Beach, was reopened in both directions, Caltrans announced. The road had been closed due to flooding.
In Orange County, all flood advisories were lifted.
The rain caused a minor rockfall and debris flows to a stretch of Topanga Canyon Boulevard between Pacific Coast Highway and Grand View Drive, according to Caltrans. The highway remained closed, and would reopen after the storms pass and crews have removed all hazards.
Flooding was reported in many parts of the 10 Freeway early Sunday morning, including the Francisquito Ave off-ramp in Baldwin Park.
But evacuation orders were lifted Saturday night by the City of Los Angeles for residents near the Palisades, Hurst and Sunset fire burn zones. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said 126 homes had been impacted by an evacuation order, all in the Palisades Fire burn area.
Evacuation warnings also were lifted for residents near the Eaton Fire burn area in Altadena.
Los Angeles County was offering residents free sandbags for pickup at the Public Works Fleet Maintenance Yard, 252 Mountain View St. in Altadena, and at the Malibu Library parking lot, 23519 W. Civic Center Way. The LAFD was providing free sandbags at fire stations throughout the city, with sand available at some of those locations.
Sandbags were also available at multiple locations in Orange County. The complete list is available at: https://www.ocfa.org/residents/sandbags.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state pre-deployed emergency response crews in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties to enable faster response to any storm-related issues that develop. He said 274 personnel were being deployed, along with 18 engines, three Urban Search & Rescue companies, six bulldozers, three swiftwater-rescue teams, three helicopters and five dispatchers.
Officials encourage Southern California residents to monitor Ready.LA County.gov, Prepare.SB County.gov, Ready Riverside.org and Ready OC.com for road closures, weather alerts and emergency notifications.
And as always after a storm, people were advised to avoid swimming in streams and rivers for at least three days after the rain.
City News Service contributed to this report.