When the Mountains Came Down in Wrightwood
WRIGHTWOOD, Calif. – It was supposed to be a time of festive restoration for Misty Cheng, a quiet period to enhance her 1960s-era home nestled in the hills. Instead, the holidays delivered what she could only describe as a “nightmare before Christmas.” While she was away, a relentless wall of mud, rock, and water—fueled by a ferocious winter storm—piled against her sanctuary, turning her sliding glass doors into the viewing pane of a terrifying, murky aquarium.
The devastation that struck Cheng’s home on Wednesday wasn’t an isolated incident; it was the violent crescendo of a storm system that has pummeled Southern California, dumping “crazy numbers” of rain—up to 10 inches in some mountain areas—over a dangerously short span. The catalyst for the destruction in Wrightwood was the scars left behind by the Bridge fire, which scorched 56,000 acres earlier in 2024. Even though Cheng’s home was far from the flames, the naked, scorched earth above could no longer hold back the sky.
When a neighbor alerted Cheng to the rising danger, she made a desperate, strategic call: open the front and garage doors. She hoped that if the debris breached, it would flow right through. The sliding glass held, but a garage wall surrendered. The torrent swept through, exiting the front door but leaving behind a thick, suffocating layer of mud in her two-story, three-bedroom home.
“Now instead of remodeling, I don’t know where to start,” Cheng said, surveying the ruin of her restoration project. “There is just so much debris inside the house. You can’t just shovel it out or take a bulldozer and go through the front door. I don’t know where to begin.”
Beyond the property damage, the storm extracted a human toll across the state, claiming three lives in tragic, weather-related incidents. In San Diego, a falling tree killed a 64-year-old man. In Mendocino County, a rogue wave claimed a woman in her 70s, and in Redding, rising waters trapped a motorist in their vehicle.
The chaos stretched from the mountains to the coast. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a declaration of emergency as the city grappled with nearly 500 tree emergencies and over 100 traffic accidents. Even the ocean wasn’t spared, with a 10,000-gallon sewage spill fouling the waters near San Pedro. Yet, amidst the deluge, Californians tried to hold onto normalcy. Families at Disneyland braved the gray skies, with one father, Chris Solario, battling the treacherous Grapevine pass to ensure his daughter’s Christmas birthday was celebrated in the Happiest Place on Earth.
“We will finally dry out once again Saturday afternoon.” – Kyle Wheeler, National Weather Service Meteorologist
Wheeler’s forecast offers a glimmer of hope for a sun-drenched, postcard weekend, but it comes with a heavy caveat. The ground is currently saturated, meaning even lighter rains on Friday pose significant risks. The danger hasn’t passed just because the heavy downpours have; the earth simply has nowhere left to put the water.
As Los Angeles heads toward a sunny, 64-degree weekend, the immediate crisis is shifting into a recovery phase, but the threat lingers. High-wind warnings remain for the Grapevine, and evacuation orders for burn scars persist. For residents like Misty Cheng, the storm has passed, but the long, arduous dig-out is only just beginning. The sun may be coming out, but the shadow of this winter storm will stretch well into the new year.
