Overview
- Fresh thunderstorms swept the Bay Area with damaging gusts over 70 mph and triggered flash-flood warnings, while a level-3-of-4 excessive rain risk covered much of Southern California including Los Angeles.
- Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in six counties—Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Shasta—with the California National Guard on standby and Los Angeles declaring a local emergency.
- Emergency crews conducted rescues in Wrightwood, including rooftop airlifts, and authorities ordered evacuations in Lytle Creek as debris flows and landslides threatened mountain communities.
- Officials reported at least two storm-related deaths—a driver in the Sacramento area and a man struck by a falling tree in San Diego—while some outlets cited three fatalities.
- Power cuts topped 165,000 customers early on Christmas Day, major roads saw closures including a stretch of I-5 near Burbank, and Sierra travel faced chain controls and considerable avalanche danger around Lake Tahoe.