The worst of Southern California’s Christmas storm appears to be over, forecasters say

A reprieve on Christmas Day from Wednesday’s brutal storm gave residents and emergency responders in some of Southern California’s mountain communities a chance to recover from mudslides, destructive floods and damaged power lines.

But even the forecast of showers for late Thursday and Friday remains a threat to soaked communities across the region.

In Wrightwood, debris flows on Christmas Eve buried homes, turned roads into rivers and split asphalt in half. The storm was unlike any in recent memory, said resident Erin DeGroot.