Storm buries Wrightwood, drenches Southland

The Gamboa family isn’t quite sure how they're going to get back into their home in Wrightwood.

- SALVADOR HERNANDEZ AND SANDRA MCDONALD

ROBERT GAMBOA and his family had to leave their Wrightwood home when nearby hills dissolved into mud.

When a powerful atmospheric river began drenching Southern California this week, they were forced to leave as the hills around them dissolved into a river of mud and debris, which by Friday was drying and hardening into a 3-foot wall blocking their doors and windows.

Since Wednesday, they've been staying with neighbors. They have no idea what the condition of the inside of their home is or how they'll access it, said the homeowner, Robert Gamboa.

“I'm trying to figure things out,” Gamboa said. “All it is is rock and mud.”

Like many others across the Southland, the Gamboas are waiting to assess the damage from the worst winter storm to hit Southern California in recent memory.

In the last few days, the governor has declared emergencies in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Shasta counties as the toll of the persistent rain and snow has mounted.

More than 10 inches of rain fell in parts of the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County during a 48hour period ending Thursday.