By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Kern County Animal Rescue

Update: A body has been found in a vehicle buried since last Thursday under mud in Palmdale. Details: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/california/Firefighters-Dig-Out-Vehicle-...

October 18, 2015 (Los Angeles)-Torrential rains and flash flooding turned hillsides in Los Angeles and Kern Counties into mudflows last Thursday that cascaded over two freeways—Interstate 5’s grapevine area north of Los Angeles and  State Route 58 near Tehachapi.

Hundreds of terrified motorists swept up in the mud flow escaped their vehicles as the freeways became muddy rivers. Firefighters and swift-water rescue personnel made daring rescues, pulling passengers out of windows as cars bobbed past. One pregnant woman escaped out the sunroof of her vehicle. Others remained trapped in their cars overnight, some with mud up to the windshields. Even semi-trucks became mired in the muck.