Heavy rainfall triggered several mudslides in Southern California on Thursday evening, trapping cars and trucks and seeping into homes in Sierra Madre, while another slide swept a Los Angeles Fire Department vehicle and a firefighter into the Pacific Ocean.

Flooding on the Mission Road underpass to the 60 Freeway in Riverside led to a swift-water rescue, while the roof of a Smart & Final in Azusa collapsed during the storm.

The steady downpour, predicted to be the strongest storm of the winter season, was true to its forecast, bringing nearly 4 inches of rain to parts of the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valley foothills, nearly 3 inches in downtown Los Angeles and upwards of 6 inches in parts of the San Gabriel Mountains, according to data from the National Weather Service.

The 2.8 inches in downtown Los Angeles set a 71-year record for the date, breaking the previous high of 2.71 in 1954.

Lake Arrowhead was particularly hit hard, receiving about 7 inches of rain as of around 4:45 a.m. Friday since the storm began, according to weather service data.

Swept to sea

A Los Angeles Fire Department SUV was swept off the Malibu hillside and into the ocean at Pacific Coast Highway and Big Rock Drive just past 5 p.m. Thursday, taking a firefighter with it before he made it back up to safety on Pacific Coast Highway.

“We spoke with him today, and he is in good spirits,” LAFD spokesman Capt. Erik Scott said Friday, “shaken up from the traumatic experience, but had only minor injuries.”

Officials said the firefighter was lucky the mudslide occurred during low tide, preventing the SUV from being pulled further into the ocean.

At about 12:30 p.m. Friday, crews successfully hoisted the SUV back onto land using a tow truck with a boom and cables. The SUV was caked in mud, its windshield streaked with dried debris. Dents and scrapes covered the sides and its front bumper hung loose from the impact.

The famed Duke’s restaurant in Malibu, which survived the Palisades fire, was swamped with floodwater during Thursday’s storm. Extensive mudflows also buried much of Topanga Canyon Boulevard, which will likely take days or weeks to clear. Mud also swamped parts of Malibu Canyon and Pacific Coast Highway, roadways that were closed prior to the storm’s arrival.

At the intersection of West Sunset Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway, bulldozers and construction crews toiled Friday to remove thick layers of debris that had buried roadways overnight.

Standing at the intersection, Scott warned that the recovery will be long and challenging.

“This has been a one-two punch with the wildfires, followed up quickly by the rains that created the mudslides,” he said.

The intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and PCH was so heavily inundated Thursday night that the ground was barely visible beneath the layers of debris, Scott said. In some areas, the mud piled up several inches to a foot high.

Fire officials remain concerned about ongoing instability in wildfire-scorched hillsides, particularly in canyons and communities recently affected by fires.

“It’s important to remind people that even though the rain has stopped and the sun is out, the danger isn’t completely gone, and the earth can still move over the next couple of days because it’s so saturated with rain,” Scott warned.

In the Hollywood Hills, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported a large debris flow in the 7100 block of Mulholland Drive, which deposited about 8 inches of mud across the street, “making passage impossible.” No injuries were reported and homes above the debris flow were later determined to be stable.

Various rescues

In Sierra Madre, debris flows trapped a small SUV with mud and debris nearly as high as the SUV’s side mirrors. A video showed a catch basin overflowing and mud flows rushing through canals in the Eaton fire zone.

Flooding shut down Market Street under the 60 Freeway in Riverside, as multiple cars became stuck in the water, video from freelance news videographer OnScene.TV showed.

The California Highway Patrol issued a hard closure just before 9:50 p.m. and said fire officials were trying to get in to stage for a swift-water rescue, according to CHP logs. The road was still closed as of 5:30 a.m.

Riverside firefighters used boats to rescue two men and two dogs who were trapped in fast-moving water on the Santa Ana River bottom about 9 p.m. Thursday, using GPS from their cellphones to find them, officials said.

“The first arriving engine crew made voice contact with the men, though they were not visible,” Riverside Fire Department Battalion Chief Scott Richmond said. “A team member deployed a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone) with thermal imaging, which, despite the rain, successfully located the men. They were found clinging to trees with their feet dangling in the water.”

Firefighters had to use chainsaws to clear a path for the rescue boats, Richmond said. The men and dogs were evaluated but declined further assistance.

In Orange County, firefighters used a helicopter and lowered a firefighter down to hoist a man and woman out of the San Juan Creek after receiving reports just before 1:45 a.m. that they were trapped in the water and hanging on to trees and bushes, the Orange County Fire Authority said.

“One of the victims, who had been dragged downstream by the swift current, jumped into the arms of the helicopter rescuer just as he was about to be secured,” OCFA said. “The rescuer held onto the victim, quickly secured him, and the helicopter lifted them safely to shore.”

Both the man and woman were taken to a hospital for evaluation, OCFA officials said.

Mud fills properties

In Highland, a mudslide forced some residents to struggle through thick mud and debris from their homes before those residents climbed up onto fences to move past the mess.

Resident Jeff Jones told RMG News, another freelance videographer, that San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies warned residents about 5 p.m. of the possibility of mud and debris flows from the recent Line fire burn scar.

About an hour later, mud and rain started “piling through,” Jones said. He called a friend to help him get some race cars off the property after mud and debris traveled down Church Street.

“It is what it is, we’re safe, our dogs are safe,” Jones said. “These are just things.”

Other residents just below Old Greenspot Road awoke to a mess as mud and debris filled their yards and, in some cases, homes.

Reuben Martinez and his wife Isabelle surveyed their rental property on Ypsilantha Street as mud was packed against the home nearly halfway up the door.

The couple said this isn’t the first time their property was hit with a mudslide. They experienced a similar one in 2010.

“This is not as overwhelming as the first time, but it is still frustrating,” Isabelle Martinez said Friday. “We just feel more for our renter.”

Reuben Martinez said they have rented the home for over 20 years to their tenant and that last night, the tenant was out of town when the mud came.

He said that neighbors came to the rescue of his tenant’s dogs, who were still inside the home Thursday night.

Residents and county personnel were seen Friday morning shoveling away the mud to clear paths and dig out stranded vehicles.

In Sierra Madre, local officials and residents throughout the tight-knit canyon community were helping with mud-clearing efforts.

Lifelong Sierra Madre Canyon resident Joshua Hagen, 51, was clearing the mud near the bridge of his father’s home that had partially collapsed. During the Eaton fire, Hagen and some family members stayed behind to protect his father’s property from the blazes.

Hagen said their “saving grace” was all the firefighter equipment his dad kept after his volunteer firefighting days.

In the mountains above Highland, CHP closed Highway 330 after multiple vehicles were either stuck or swept off the roadway into a ravine in a mudslide. The roadway was still closed Friday morning with no estimate for when it might be reopened.

San Bernardino County firefighters rescued several people whose cars went into the ravine around 7:30 p.m. about a mile north of the City Creek ranger station, officials said.

“They were all just driving and there was a huge rush of mud across the road,” said Capt. Mark Howder, who was on the first engine to arrive. “They didn’t know what happened and they were spinning around in circles.”

The mud was up to window sills on some of the cars, he said.

In the pouring rain, firefighters placed 24-foot extension ladders on top of the mud for the victims to walk across, and they did so safely, Howder said.

He described the rescue as “slow, methodical and safe.”

Roof collapse

The roof of a Smart & Final store in Azusa collapsed amid the heavy rainfall around 5:45 p.m. Thursday, Azusa police Cpl. Brandon Saenz said, adding that police evacuated the store at 303 E. Foothill Boulevard; he wasn’t sure how many employees and customers were inside when the collapse occurred near the produce section.

“Part of the roof came down,” Saenz said. The building was red-tagged by the city.

Police tape was seen around the entrance as items were seen scattered on the floor of the rain-soaked store inside, video from RMG News shows. No injuries were reported.

On Friday morning, would-be shoppers were surprised to see the damage and be turned away from the store by a security guard while a yellow hose pumped out water from inside. Repair trucks littered the parking lot outside.

Silver and red mylar balloons wishing everyone “Happy Valentine’s Day!” waved from within all the activity.

And in Ontario, a sinkhole in the area of Holt Boulevard and Sultana Avenue left both roads closed in both directions from their nearest cross streets, Ontario police said.

Officials had worked to prepare for the storm by setting up equipment in the Palisades area, while calling for evacuation orders for multiple areas, including people in the Palisades, Eaton, Airport, Line and Bridge fire burn scars.

But the mayhem caused by the storm extended well beyond those vulnerable spots.

Coto de Caza in Orange County was hit with 5.24 inches of rain, while other areas of the county, including San Juan Capistrano and Anaheim Hills, saw more than 3 inches as of 11 a.m. Friday, according to weather service data.

Some areas in San Bernardino County valleys, including Glen Helen Regional Park, saw more than 5 inches of rain, while parts of Riverside County, including Lake Elsinore and Beaumont, also saw more than 3 inches.

Evacuation orders affected residents in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties, while evacuation warnings were issued in the Hollywood Hills, Sylmar, Mount Baldy and Wrightwood.

Staff writers Mercedes Cannon-Tran, Anissa Rivera and Ruby Gonzales and City News Service contributed to this report.