50 homes in Southern California were considerably damaged by massive mudslides provoked by a monsoon.

Officials said yesterday that heavy rains brought thunderstorms to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, generating the mudslide near the city of Independence that was 300 yards wide and up to 3 feet deep. Nature’s fury also triggered to flooding in Sequoia National Forest (at the Erskine Creek Canyon in the town of Lake Isabella) making officials release evacuation instructions for approximately 75 homes.

County fire Inspector Tony Diffenbaugh said 7 persons and 2 dogs were saved by helicopter. Nobody has been injured in the occurrence.

Carma Roper, spokeswoman for the Inyo County Sheriff's Department, said the inhabitants from Independence, whose homes were devastated by the slides, weren’t given the permission to go back to their houses, being forced to temporarily shelter in a nearby school.

 The landslide left behind debris and big stones on Highway 395, which is a main route east side of the Sierra Nevada that connects the Inland Empire area to Reno, Nevada. The highway was entirely closed Sunday for a few hours, but then the California Highway Patrol opened one lane through the mudslide region, to facilitate traffic. An amount of mud also affected the LA Aqueduct, which provides much of Los Angeles' water. The area where the downhill mass wasting took place was scarred by wildfires last year.

According to officials, Piute Fire that has burned in the Sequoia National Forest likely was a factor in the flooding in Lake Isabella (southern Sierra Nevada). "When rain follows the fire this closely, there's no vegetation to stop or absorb it," stated Jim Whittington, a fire spokesperson at Lake Isabella.