More than a dozen homes were evacuated and numerous roads were closed as flooding and mudslides brought on by a strong winter storm threatened Lake Hughes.
At least 13 homes south of Lake Hughes and Deeswood roads in Lake Hughes were under mandatory evacuations Friday night, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Palmdale Station.
The area is vulnerable because of last June's Powerhouse fire.
Lake Hughes resident Vince Coscia and his friend Mark were out in the rain using a shovel to help divert water away from a friend's evacuated home Friday afternoon.
"We’re just up here doing a good deed," Coscia said.
The house belongs to an elderly couple who were forced to leave when the Sheriff's Department evacuated homes along Lake Hughes Road.
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"I was just trying to save the house. The fire took everything ground cover so water won't stop," Coscia's friend Mark said.
A mudslide was blocking the road just north of Mendenhall County Juvenile camp on Lake Hughes Road, officials said.
NBC4's Kim Baldonado and photographer James Wulff were trapped between two mudslides for about an hour on Friday.
Road closures were in effect for:
- Lake Elizabeth Road at Lake Hughes Road is impassable due to mudslides.
- Bouquet Canyon Road is closed between Big Oaks Lodge and Vasquez Canyon Road.
- Munz Ranch Road at Elizabeth Lake Road
- Avenue T between Longview & 165th St E, in the Littlerock area due to flooded roadway
Soft closures (residents only):
- Lake Elizabeth Road at Lake Hughes Elementary School
- Pine Canyon Road at Sawmill Road
