Rain Pelts Southland Putting Damper On Shoppers, Skaters, Strollers

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com)  —   A winter storm pelted the Southland with rain Friday evening putting a damper on last-minute shoppers, skaters and those looking to generally walk and stroll around on a Friday night.

With one shopping day left before Christmas, many bargain-seekers had to brave heavy rain in many places.

In Santa Monica, KCAL9's Rachel Kim found a relatively large crowd out-and-about shopping and skating -- until the skies opened up.

In Duarte, KCAL9's Jeff Nguyen said public works crews were working overtime to try to keep a lid on the kinds of mudslides that hit the area a week ago.

Last time, the mess and muck went right into Rudy Fuentes' driveway. So he's hoping to prevent that Friday night.

"I braced them together and my sons and I put the sandbags on both ends," said Fuentes.

Earlier Friday, city officials knocked on doors and told homeowners to move their cars off the streets in case the hills gave way again.

Brian Olivas told Nguyen he was keeping one car at the ready in case his family had to make a quick get-away.

"We're parking it on the next street over tonight. Just in case," he said.

In Burbank, KCAL9's Tom Wait said the rain was unrelenting.

"It's been pretty intense," he reported.

He even spoke to some shoppers (including a man in shorts) in the San Fernando Valley who were unprepared for the wet  change of weather.

The steady rain was enough for the National Weather Service to declare a flash flood warning in the Old Burn Area in Western Los Angeles County.

That area was expecting as much as a half-inch of rain per hour for several hours.

The Weather Service advised residents downstream of that area, "to take immediate precautions to protect life and property. Quickly move away from the burn area only if it is safe to do so, otherwise shelter in place and move to a second story or the highest location in your home to stay out of the path of fast-moving water and debris flows."

In Montebello, Bluff Road was closed due to a downed tree and exposed power lines around 10 p.m.. Officials advised people to avoid the area of northbound Bluff Road from Given Place through Whittier Boulevard for several hours.

In the mountain areas KCAL9's Crystal Cruz didn't have to look far to find snow. The storm dumped several inches of snow in the ski areas delighting snowboarders and those looking for a white Christmas.