Crews began clearing roads across Southern California on Friday after an atmospheric river brought heavy rain that triggered rounds of evacuations and closures as it unleashed damaging mudslides throughout the fire-ravaged region .
Mudslides and flash floods were reported through Thursday night. In the Los Angeles area, mud and debris covered several major roads including the Pacific Coast Highway, the 101 freeway and Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills.
In Malibu, an SUV carrying a Los Angeles firefighter was swept off the road and into the Pacific Ocean. The firefighter managed to escape and was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries, department spokesperson Erik Scott said on X. He added that a tow truck was expected to pull the vehicle out of the water during low tide on Friday…