WRIGHTWOOD, Calif. (KABC) — It was a rough Christmas for Misty Cheng.
Last week’s powerful storm left a trail of destruction throughout the town of Wrightwood, including Cheng’s getaway home.
Video shared with Eyewitness News shows a river of water pouring into her home. The aftermath? A massive, soggy and muddy mess.
“I just broke down in tears because it is devastating to see and to see my neighbors also suffering the same,” she told ABC7.
She called it her own “Nightmare Before Christmas.” The home she bought three years ago – the one she poured her time and money into – erased in matter of minutes.
After two days of digging and cleaning, there’s been some progress.
“We had two days of myself, eight men and one volunteer to dig this out,” said Cheng. “I mean, [the mud] was literally taller than myself.”
The rush to shovel, scrape, and haul out the thick sludge is a race against time.
“It was imperative that everything be fixed immediately before it hardened,” said Cheng.
On Monday, AIR7 captured the first aerial view of the damage that was left behind in Wrightwood. On Friday, officials said that approximately 50 homes were damaged and at least 24 of those homes are in the Wrightwood area.
It wasn’t just homeowners that saw damage. Businesses, like the Grand Pine Cabins, were also impacted.
“Rocks and a whole bunch of debris everywhere, so that’s basically what we’re looking at is cleaning up the debris, making sure it’s safe for everybody to get back up here,” said Alise Carlson with Grand Pine Cabins.
A mudslide forced the cabins to close during what’s typically one of the busiest weeks of the year. Now, they’re dealing with a major hit to their bottom line.
“This is like our peak,” said Carlson. “We do like 40% of our business here this time of year. So, it’s really impacting us and the community, but we can pull through.”
As the mud is slowly cleared away, the fear now turns to what comes next with another round of rain headed toward an already saturated mountain community that’s still trying to recover.
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