A relentless “atmospheric river” of moisture, dubbed the Pineapple Express, has transformed a festive Christmas week into a scene of disaster across California. As of Friday morning, officials have confirmed three fatalities related to the surging floodwaters and violent winds that have submerged neighborhoods, triggered mudslides in fire-scarred canyons, and left tens of thousands in the dark.
Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles and several other southern counties as emergency crews worked through the holiday night to rescue residents trapped in submerged vehicles and homes inundated by debris.
A Holiday Tragedy: The Toll of the Storm
While many families were gathered for Christmas dinners, others were fighting for their lives against the rising tide. The victims of this week’s storms represent the varying dangers posed by the state’s increasingly volatile winter weather:
- The San Diego Tree Strike: On Wednesday morning, a 64-year-old man identified as Roberto Ruiz was killed in the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego. Ruiz had reportedly stepped outside to move his car when a 75-foot-tall tree, weakened by saturated soil and high winds, collapsed and crushed him.
- The Redding Flood Trap: In Northern California, a 74-year-old motorist died after his vehicle became stranded in rapidly rising floodwaters in Redding. Despite a desperate rescue attempt by police who broke the car’s windows to pull him out, the man could not be revived.
- The Mendocino Coast Casualty: Earlier in the week, a woman in her 70s was swept into the Pacific Ocean by a “sneaker wave” at MacKerricher State Park. Authorities cited the extreme surf conditions generated by the storm system as the cause of the fatal surge.
‘All Hands on Deck’ in the San Gabriel Mountains
The hardest-hit area remains the mountain community of Wrightwood, located about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The town, already vulnerable following the 2024 Bridge Fire, saw streets turn into rivers of thick mud and boulders.
- Mass Rescues: San Bernardino County firefighters worked through Christmas Day to extract dozens of people trapped in cars as mudflows rushed down mountain roads.
- Evacuation Orders: What began as a “shelter-in-place” order was upgraded to a mandatory evacuation on Thursday afternoon. Officials warned that the “super-saturation” of the soil meant that any additional rainfall would trigger immediate, dangerous runoff.
- Isolated Families: In Lytle Creek, roaring waters washed out the only bridge connecting the neighborhood to the main road, leaving half the community stranded on the wrong side of the water with dwindling supplies of food and diapers.
Infrastructure Under Siege
The sheer volume of water—up to 11 inches in parts of Los Angeles County—has pushed the state’s infrastructure to its breaking point.
- Power Outages: At the height of the storm, over 100,000 customers were without power across the state. Crews from PG&E and Southern California Edison are currently working in hazardous conditions to restore lines downed by fallen trees.
- Road Closures: Major arteries, including sections of Interstate 5 and the Angeles Crest Highway, were shuttered due to flooding and rockslides.
- The Tornado Threat: In a rare event for the region, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for east-central Los Angeles County on Thursday morning after intense thunderstorm activity was detected over Alhambra.
The Forecast: A Fragile Reprieve
While the heaviest rain is expected to ease by Friday evening, meteorologists warn that the danger is far from over. With the ground fully saturated, the risk of “delayed” landslides remains high. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has urged residents to remain off the roads, emphasizing that “shallow-looking water can be fast-moving and deadly.”
As Californians begin the grim task of shoveling mud from their living rooms, the 2025 Christmas storm will be remembered as one of the wettest and most destructive in decades—a stark reminder of the power of the Pacific’s “atmospheric rivers.”