Winter storms cause at least 4 fatalities, widespread damage across California

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Powerful winter storms have left at least four people dead and caused widespread damage across the U.S. state of California over the Christmas holiday week.

Governor Gavin Newsom on Christmas Eve declared a state of emergency for six counties, namely Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Shasta.

This legal declaration allows the state government to deploy more resources and the state to seek federal assistance to manage the situation.

The death toll reached at least four by Thursday as authorities confirmed casualties across the state.

In San Diego, a 23-meter tree fell and killed a 64-year-old man who was moving his car.

Along the northern coast in Mendocino County, a woman in her 70s was swept off a rock by a massive wave at MacKerricher State Park. Although bystanders rescued her from the water, she lost consciousness and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another fatality occurred in the Redding area when a motorist became trapped in a flooded vehicle on Sunday. Additionally, a sheriff's deputy in Sacramento County died in a vehicle crash related to the weather on Wednesday.

At the height of the storms, power outages reached a peak of 140,000 customers across the state Wednesday night. High winds and falling trees damaged much of the electrical infrastructure.

Utility crews have since restored power to thousands of residents. As of Thursday afternoon, approximately 92,000 customers remained without electricity statewide.

In the Sierra Nevada mountains, heavy snow has created blizzard conditions. Forecasters expected up to 1.8 meters of new snow in high-elevation areas. Meanwhile, wind speeds in the mountains reached 145 km per hour.

Authorities have advised people to avoid traveling in the mountains and to stay away from areas that were recently burned by wildfire. ■