Heavy rainfall once again overwhelmed storm drains and caused mudslides in Riverside and San Bernardino counties Monday, with officials ordering some Inland Empire residents to evacuate.
“The communities of Oak Glen, Oak Glen Road, north & south, from Casa Blanca Road to the County Line, south from Wild Lilac Point down to WildWood Canyon Road, are subject to an evacuation ORDER,” Yucaipa police tweeted.
Yucaipa police later expanded that order to include “the community of Forest Falls from Canyon Drive south to Prospect Drive.”
A Red Cross evacuation shelter was established at Redlands East Valley High School at 3100 E. Colton Ave.
In Forest Falls, roughly 75 miles east of Los Angeles, torrential downpours led to flooding that impacted homes, electricity service and natural gas lines, the San Bernardino County Fire Department said.
Fire crews were searching for potential victims and assessing structural damage.
Video obtained by KTLA showed structures and cars smashed together, as well as a vehicle nearly buried by debris.
Flash floods damaged homes and cars in Forest Falls on Sept. 12, 2022. (OnScene.TV) 
Flash floods damaged homes and cars in Forest Falls on Sept. 12, 2022. (OnScene.TV) 
Flash floods damaged homes and cars in Forest Falls on Sept. 12, 2022. (OnScene.TV) 
Flash floods damaged homes and cars in Forest Falls on Sept. 12, 2022. (OnScene.TV)
Capt. Jeremy Kern of the San Bernardino County Fire Department said they are experiencing a lot of cell and communication issues, so firefighters are going home-to-home to make sure everyone is accounted for and to check for damage.
In Riverside, at least two vehicles got stranded when a stretch of Chicago Avenue became submerged.
Flash Flood Warnings were issued for both Riverside and San Bernardino counties Monday afternoon.
The inclement weather comes a day after mudslides trapped dozens of motorists in the Lake Hughes area.
Heavy rain also impacted California State University San Bernardino, which had to cancel in-person classes as the campus and its sister campus in Palm Desert sustained flood damage. The library, student union, sports arena, and some student housing in San Bernardino were impacted.
Student Brandon Von Haden described the rain as “pounding” and said Shop-Vacs had to be used to help remove the water.
“Both of the lobbies of these two buildings were flooded… We had to vacuum up the water,” he said.
Fellow student Devoney Arevalo said thunder preceded the “really hard” rain.
“The whole quad area in front of our building was flooded,” she added.
The campuses were expected to reopen Tuesday.
