PHOTOS: Storm sweeps through the Southland

Trash and shopping carts litter the beach near Seal Beach Pier. Last week’s storms brought debris down the San Gabriel River. “It’s gross,” one surfer said. “There’s plastic bags everywhere.”  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The coastal areas near river mouths are particularly hard-hit when storms bring trash flow from dozens of miles away.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Amid warm temperatures and clear blue skies, Mariana Flores, 14, front, and Rita Navarro, 13, kayak near Alamitos Bay in Long Beach, against a backdrop of the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Snow lovers climb up a steep embankment in the San Bernardino National Forest off California 138, on the way to Wrightwood. Massive traffic jams on the road as well as California 2 forced travelers to park where they could so they could get out and enjoy the snow.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Angeles Crest Highway was closed east of Wrightwood because Mountain High Ski Resort was full. “There is just nowhere to put them,” a CHP officer said.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Leon Heilman uses a snowblower to clear the street in front of his home in Wrightwood.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Keith Perkins clears waist-deep snow from his driveway in Wrightwood.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Families huddling beneath umbrellas and watching jets come and go at Los Angeles International Airport are treated to a colorful show in the sky.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

An L.A. firefighter approaches the dog.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The firefighter and dog are moved to higher ground.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Residents of La Cañada Flintridge are treated to an early morning view of a light dusting of snow in the foothills and San Gabriel Mountains.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Desert brush is covered in snow as bundled-up pedestrians walk at the Cajon Summit off the 15 Freeway.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Mariachi musician Jesus Monroy plays his instrument while waiting for a gig under stormy skies at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Work crews begin the process of cleaning up the mud and debris from the most recent storm on Earnslow Drive in La Cañada Flintridge.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Workers cut and remove an oak tree that fell on overhead lines and blocked the tracks of the MTA Gold Line in South Pasadena this morning.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Early morning light hits the snow on the San Gabriel Mountains above La Canada and Altadena.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Pedestrians along Hollywood Boulevard try to keep dry as they pass Madame Tussauds wax museum.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Modjeska Canyon resident Ben Viloria clears mud out of a drain near his home as a series of storms drenched the Southland.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

A crew clears an area of water and mud on Modjeska Canyon road Thursday as a Pacific storm moved through the Southland.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

A surfer goes over the falls on a big wave in Seal Beach. The latest winter storm that moved through Southern California brought waves recorded at up to 20 feet and winds of up to 80 mph.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Landlubbers’ flotsam and jetsam litter Huntington State Beach at the mouth of the Santa Ana River.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Kindergartners line up to say “thank you for saving our school” to the cleanup crews at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Costa Mesa. For the last two days, classrooms and offices were flooded with ankle-deep water when plugged street drains overflowed. The Rev. Norbert Wood says the school sustained about $50,000 in damage.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation inmates help shovel mud from a debris flow on a private road off Escalante Drive near Castle Road in La Cañada Flintridge. The mud was several feet thick and had pushed over protective boards on a driveway.  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

A Big Bear Lake city worker uses a snowblower to clear the sidewalk in The Village even as more snow falls in the San Bernardino Mountains.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Abraham Gonzalez of Big Bear Lake digs out his car after more snow fell in the San Bernardino Mountains.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

George Troester, on his lunch break from work, runs across a flooded street at Sunset Boulevard and Highland Avenue in Los Angeles.  (Christina House / For The Times)

Three men are silhouetted against storm clouds while standing on a protective sand berm in Seal Beach during a break in the weather.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

A workman pauses while repairing a broken storm drain beneath the basement floor of the student union building at Cal State Long Beach. Cleanup and repair crews began working on damage throughout the building Thursday as the result of heavy rains the night before.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Dave Hargrave of Seal Beach is obscured by rain drops while carrying a red umbrella that provides some color to a monochromatic scene at the Seal Beach pier.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Roberta Dow faces stiff gusts south of the Seal Beach Pier, as she joined dozens of of curious people anticipating the approaching storm. “We came out to see the excitement before the rain hits,” she said.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Ernie Aleman, left, and Daryll Carrillo of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works clear debris on Derwood Drive off Ocean View Boulevard in La Cañada Flintridge.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Mud flows between homes on Derwood Drive near Ocean View Boulevard in La Cañada Flintridge.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A man walks to his car from the Long Beach Aquarium during a heavy downpour in Long Beach.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Chris Poplion of Carson, left, and Richard Macias of Corona take cover as a wave crashes over the breakwater at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Starr and Rick Frazier react as they see their neighbors evacuating their Ocean View Boulevard home in the foothills above La Cañada Flintridge. The Fraziers refused to evacuate, saying they will ride out the storm in their home even though their neighborhood is under a mandatory evacuation order.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Edwin Castellanos, left, Melissa Vasquez and Ricardo Luna wade across flooded Redondo Avenue near Anaheim Street in Long Beach, where they were supposed to catch the bus, but it wasn’t running because of the floodwaters.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Henrex Bou of Long Beach wades through flooded Redondo Avenue near Anaheim Street in Long Beach.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Chloe Koenig, 3, tries to keep her head dry. Her father, Jeff McMullens (not pictured), filled sand bags to help protect the family’s garage from potential high water at their low-lying Huntington Beach home.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Homeowner George Wiktor clears mud away so water can flow past his property on Earnslow Drive in La Cañada Flintridge.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

A California Highway Patrol car checks out the 5 Freeway near Gorman in the mountains north of Los Angeles.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Waves crash along the Santa Monica Pier.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

A motorist rips through a flooded stretch of East Coast Highway in Newport Beach.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Vehicles drive around two cars stalled at the flooded intersection of San Fernando Road and Tuxford Street in Sun Valley during the third storm this week in Southern California.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Tatum Lane, left, and her cousin Ella Lane, both 5, share an umbrella while visiting Ports o’ Call Village in San Pedro.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Sea gulls take flight under cloudy skies near Emma Wood State Beach, just west of Ventura.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Lissette Lawler, 14, left, and her mother, Hilda Beauchamp-Lawler of Redondo Beach, take in the view at Manhattan Beach as the rain comes down.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Mark Morgan of Camarillo, accompanied by his dog Murphy, goes to the beach to take photos of the giant swells pounding the Ventura pier.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Stephen May with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works clears tree limbs from the Mullally debris basin, above Ocean View Boulevard in the foothills of La Cañada Flintridge, on Wednesday morning before the heavy showers begin.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Terri Dearman carries her dog Cosmo to the car after being ordered to evacuate her home, located on Ocean View Boulevard in the foothills of La Cañada Flintridge.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Mitch Chaisson packs his vehicles after sheriff’s deputies ordered the evacuation of homes on Irving Avenue in La Crescenta. Heavy rains later today are expected to leave 4 to 8 inches of rain in the Station Fire burn areas.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Deputy Edwin Roberts of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department goes door to door asking residents to evacuate their homes.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Deputy Tino Madrid talks to resident Vachik Selemi, who returned to his residence on Ocean View Boulevard to evacuate his dog, Canto.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Sandbags line Irving Avenue in La Crescenta.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

A visitor makes a risky stab at the storm eroded sand next to the Seal Beach Pier. At high tide, the wind driven waves were breaking at the railing of the pier on the morning of January 20, 2010.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

A city street service crew cleans up Blanchard Canyon Road in Tujunga. Residents in the neighborhood are under evacuation orders because of the threat of mudslides caused by heavy rains.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Gina Kuraner watches as a street crew cleans up Blanchard Canyon Road.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Rocco Depalma leaves his home on Blanchard Canyon Road under evacuation orders.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Mark Silvano, 58, a volunteer who is the eyes and ears of the L.A. Fire Department in emergency situations, keeps watch on Blanchard Canyon Road in Tujunga. People living in Blanchard Canyon are under evacuation orders because of the threat of mudslides.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Malcolm MacDonald watches a Los Angeles city brush-fire unit patrol Tujunga’s Blanchard Canyon Road, which is under evacuation orders because of the threat of mudslides.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

A weather front moves over the Los Angeles skyline as the sun sets on a stormy day in Southern California.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The view from the Seal Beach Pier on Tuesday evening. The pier was closed earlier in the day due to the high surf and wind.  (Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)

Eric Freed checks on his vehicle along a flooded stretch of Bennett Avenue in Long Beach.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

A catamaran is askew on a dock in the Huntington Harbour area, which a tornado reportedly passed through.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Waves crash into the Ventura Pier, which officials closed for public safety reasons. The surging surf loosened a piling, but the pier remains structurally sound, a city official said.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Yeisen Molina ventures out on his bike to check on one of the cars trapped in a pool of rainwater on El Toro Road under the 5 Freeway overpass in Lake Forest.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Workers struggle to free a tent that became entangled in a pine tree near the 18th green at Torrey Pines in La Jolla. High winds roared through the area Tuesday afternoon, toppling pavilions being set up for a tournament at the golf course.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

A fireman opens the door to a home on 4th Street in San Pedro, allowing water to drain out after the neighborhood was inundated during heavy rains.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

A Huntington Beach police officer checks out an SUV that winds blew onto its side in the parking lot of Peter’s Landing Marina in Huntington Harbour. No one was in the vehicle when it tipped over.  (Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. Forest Service Public Information Officer Rich Phelps looks over the Pickens flood maintenance yard in La Crescenta as heavy rains continue to fill it with mud and debris from hillsides charred by the Station fire.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Muddy water full of debris pours into the Pickens flood maintenance yard in La Crescenta.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A Los Angeles County public works crew scoops up mud and debris flowing down on Earnslow Drive in La Cañada Flintridge.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Residents of the 2000 block of Earnslow Drive in La Cañada Flintridge try to protect their homes by placing sandbags as mud and debris flow through their backyards.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

At 5:30 in the morning, California Highway Patrol Officer Jeff Johnson was stationed on Big Tujunga Canyon Road to turn away vehicles. The road has been closed to all vehicles since Sunday evening.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Pedestrians slog through heavy rain near Sunland Boulevard in Sunland.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Waves crash into the protective wall behind homes on Pacific Coast Highway between Faria Road and Solimar Beach Road as high tide and large swells created heavy surf conditions while a second storm hit Southern California this week.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Caltrans inspector Russ Abbey, left, and another crew member survey a section of Angeles Crest Highway damaged by heavy rains. The highway is closed to traffic.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Newport Beach resident Jerome Anello jogs along the shoreline at sunrise Tuesday.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

An array of storm debris includes sticks, toys, bottles and a mannequin head along the banks of the Santa Ana River near Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach on Tuesday.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Jerry Kolish digs into a pile of mud accumulated in front of his driveway in Tujunga. Kolish complained that some of the debris was left by a skip loader that was clearing the street.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Andy Dotson, 46, carries a pizza as he makes his way over a mound of mud more than 6 feet high in front of his home in Sierra Madre. Dotson, who has lived there 17 years, said he had to walk down the hill because police stopped the pizza deliverer from entering the mud-washed neighborhood.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Heavy clouds hang over Los Angeles as the first in a series of storms moves through Southern California.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

A big rig crashed through the center divider as the driver was heading east on the 118 Freeway on Monday afternoon. The accident occurred east of Yosemite Drive about 2:30 p.m. as heavy rains moved through the area. The Southland saw many traffic-related accidents throughout the day.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Mud and debris fill the cul de sac at Normanton Drive in La Cañada Flintridge on Monday afternoon.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Newport Beach tow operators work to upright Gio Morrelli’s 1966 VW van that flipped over during heavy rains on northbound Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach. “I was hanging upside down,” Morrelli said. “I’m OK by the grace of God. I keep thinking it could have been so much worse.”  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

James Altman of Rosemead Public Works photographs the damage caused by a tree that splintered and fell across a car at 9510 Olney St. in Rosemead.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Perry Burch drags his mud-covered trash can to his driveway after 3 feet of mud and debris filled the street in front of his home on Blanchard Canyon Drive in Tujunga.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Swift Water Rescue team try to free a department vehicle stuck in a mud flow on Blanchard Canyon Road in the foothills of Tujunga.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A woman driving home to Long Beach from the Mountain High ski resort had her car stuck in a deluge of mud and rocks while heading east on Lone Pine Canyon Road. The road was closed soon after, as three other cars were reportedly stuck in the mud too.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A woman is told her car would have to be towed; she had driven into a mudslide while heading east on Lone Pine Canyon Road near Wrightwood.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

As heavy rains pound the foothills, Andy Dotson tries to divert the flow of mud and debris away from his garage in the 700 block of Skyland Drive in Sierra Madre.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Andy Dotson watches mud and debris flow down the street in front of his home in the 700 block of Skyland Drive in Sierra Madre.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

A rainbow hovers over Highway 138 on the way to Palmdale as the first of three strong winter storms moves through Southern California.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Tony Rocci, 18, sliding, and Shelbi Murillo, 17, make the best of a cold, icy day near Mountain High ski resort. The Orange County residents drove up to snowboard but found part of the mountain closed.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Joy Lee, left, and her mom, Sandy, both of Glendale, walk against the wind and rain during a visit to the Seal Beach Pier.  (Christina House / For The Times)

Bright lanterns and a blue umbrella brighten a gloomy day in L.A.’s Chinatown. Southern California is braced for a round of storms over the coming week that are forecast to bring heavy rain and high winds.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Rainwater runoff splashes against barriers and sandbags along Ocean View Boulevard during the first of several storms to hit the area, which was damaged in fall wildfires.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Ed Luboff checks out the scene along Big Tujunga Canyon Road, north of Mount Gleason Avenue, in the Angeles National Forest. He packed a suitcase before heading out to work in case the road was closed later due to the storms.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A portion of Big Tujunga Canyon Road, north of Mount Gleason Avenue, is flooded. The risk of flash floods and mudslides is especially severe in communities below the 250-square-mile Station fire burn zone, where authorities cited a serious threat of mud and debris flows.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)