Mudslides bury cars and homes up to their windows in California town | California

Mudslides buried cars and homes up to their windows in a California mountain town as a powerful storm system brought the wettest Christmas in decades to the southern part of the state.

As much as 12in of rain fell across the area on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service, triggering flooding and washing out roads.

Local authorities issued an evacuation warning for Wrightwood, California, a town of just under 5,000 people around 80 miles (130km) north-east of Los Angeles, as images showed mud and debris engulfing homes and vehicles. The San Bernardino county fire department on Thursday night stated that one person was injured in the slide, but that weather conditions were expected to improve and there was no ongoing safety threat.

The town remained under an evacuation warning on Friday morning with some surrounding roads closed, according to the county’s emergency service system.

The storms, a result of atmospheric rivers carrying plumes of moisture from the tropics, hit during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. The immense rainfall was also a stark shift from last winter, when an exceedingly dry year created conditions for the rapid spread of devastating wildfires across the region.

The system brought the wettest Christmas season to downtown Los Angeles in 54 years, the National Weather Service said.

At least three people have been killed since the storms began earlier this week. A motorist was killed in the northern California city of Redding after becoming trapped in their vehicle during a flood. Farther south, a Sacramento sheriff’s deputy died in what appeared to be a weather-related crash. And in San Diego, a man was reportedly killed by a falling tree.

In Wrightwood, the storm knocked out power and left a gas station and coffee shop that ran on generators to serve as a hub for residents and visitors.

“It’s really a crazy Christmas,” said Jill Jenkins, who was spending the holiday with her 13-year-old grandson, Hunter Lopiccolo.

Lopiccolo said the family almost evacuated the previous day, when water washed away a chunk of their backyard, but they decided to stay and still celebrated the holiday. Lopiccolo got a new snowboard and an e-bike.

“We just played card games all night with candles and flashlights,” he said.

Davey Schneider hiked a mile and a half (2.4km) through rain and flood water up to his shins from his Wrightwood residence on Wednesday to rescue cats from his grandfather’s house.

“I wanted to help them out because I wasn’t confident that they were going to live,” Schneider said on Thursday. “Fortunately, they all lived. They’re all OK – just a little bit scared.”

Arlene Corte said roads in town turned into rivers, but her house was not damaged.

“It could be a whole lot worse,” she said. “We’re here talking.”

With more rain on the way, more than 150 firefighters were stationed in the area, said Shawn Millerick, San Bernardino county fire department spokesperson.

“We’re ready,” he said. “It’s all hands on deck at this point.”

Areas along the coast, including Malibu, were under a flood watch until Friday afternoon, and wind and flood advisories were issued for much of the Sacramento valley and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Southern California typically gets half an inch to 1 inch (1.3-2.5cm) of rain this time of year, but this week many areas could see between 4 and 8in, with even more in the mountains, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said.

More wind and heavy snow was expected in the Sierra Nevada, where gusts created “near white-out conditions” and made mountain pass travel treacherous.

Governor Gavin Newsom declared emergencies in six counties to allow state assistance.

The state deployed resources and first responders to several coastal and southern California counties, and the California national guard was on standby.