On Christmas Eve, devastating floods driven by an atmospheric river swept through the mountains and hills of San Bernardino County, California, rushing down from high ground and into homes with terrifying force and speed. Neighborhoods were completely engulfed by torrential mudslides strong enough to displace cars and burst into homes.
Annalyn and her husband’s entire home was caught in the middle of it all. Her husband is paralyzed, so they couldn’t evacuate, fearing for their lives during the floods.
“It felt like we were in the middle of an ocean,” she shared. “Looking out, all you could see was mud and water.”
Since arriving on the ground, our team has been walking alongside families like Annalyn’s as they clean out their homes and rebuild after everything was destroyed in the blink of an eye. Over the past two weeks, we’ve responded to flood impacts across Wrightwood and Lytle Creek, completing muck-and-gut work at homes buried in mud, conducting mold sanitations to address lingering moisture and prevent hazardous growth, and carrying out debris removals to help families reclaim their spaces after the floods.
In Lytle Creek, Donna and her husband lost their entire backyard when floodwaters tore through their property. The force of the water was strong enough to move a 700-lb propane tank and destroy the lower level of their home.
Our team helped clear debris washed in by the flood, a task made even more difficult as the mud dried like cement. Among the wreckage were Donna’s family photos, buried beneath layers of hardened mud.
“I don’t care about the stuff,” she told us. “It’s just the pictures.”
Behind the scenes, our team worked to turn intakes from the Local Assistance Center into active cases, building assessments and a growing work queue. In just over a week, we:
- Worked on 9 impacted properties, supporting 26 residents
- Completed 4 muck-and-guts, 3 mold sanitations and 4 debris removals
- Conducted outreach and assessments for 31 additional cases through Crisis Clean Up referrals, Local Assistance Center intakes, and our AH&H intake line
- Led a Community Mold Sanitation Training in partnership with the San Bernardino County VOAD
Looking ahead, our tools, technology and equipment remain positioned on the West Coast to support future responses. We’re also coordinating with Shasta County’s American Red Cross to donate 10 dehumidifiers to aid ongoing flood recovery efforts.
