Family Digs Out From Tons of Mud in Southern California Back Yard

The Southern California storms left a sinkhole in Oxnard and a back yard buried under mud in Azusa

Crews attempted to clear mud that piled up in the back yard of a home in the foothills east of Los Angeles as workers in a coastal community repaired a sinkhole left behind by the first significant storms to hit Southern California in months.

In Azusa, about 25 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, homeowners shoveled mud and debris from their foothill properties, many of which were under evacuation orders during the storms. Residents were allowed to return home just before noon Sunday.

City crews hauled about 200 tons of mud from the back of one property, where mud piled halfway up to the rim of a family's basketball hoop and built up around the home's foundation. Firefighters dug a trench to relieve some of the pressure on the foundation.

"When we first saw it, it was little heartbreaking," said homeowner Amanda Heinlein. "We shed a few tears.

"But then, it's been 24 hours and the change has been night and day."

The area is just below a hillside that burned in January's Colby fire. The Heileins said the situation probably would have been worse if not for a stand of avocado trees that prevented more mud from flowing down the hillside and into their back yard.

The 20-by-10-foot hole at Ventura Road at Hemlock Street in Oxnard was another reminder of the storms that began last week and continued to bring rain through Sunday. There were no reports of injuries of damage to vehicles, but traffic will be routed around the sinkhole until it is repaired.

In the Hollywood Hills, a mudslide blocked an entrance to homes and brought down a tree and power lines near Temple Hill Drive. Power was restored in the neighborhood.

Along the coast, storm-driven waves covered much of the mile-long Zuma Beach in Malibu with sand and kelp as water surged through a parking lot seawall. As the surf swelled over the Redondo Beach Pier Saturday night, The King  Harbor Yacht Club was evacuated and access to the area remained restricted.

Saturday's steady downpour dropped up to 6 inches of rain in downtown  Los Angeles and up to 3 inches in the coastal areas, but the storm that moved  in Thursday was said to be on its way out today, according to the National  Weather Service.

Expect dry conditions are warmer temperatures this week.

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