PHOTOS: Mudslide near Love’s 392 in Tehachapi leaves many stranded

Posted November 17, 2015
truck stuck inTehachapi mudslide 2015

It doesn't matter where you live, Mother Nature is going to do what she wants to do, and you just have to go with it. When rain started falling in Tehachapi, California, the team at Love's 392 wasn't fazed. But the rain kept falling, and that's when things got interesting.

Torrential downpours left the ground soft and unstable. The continued rain, hilly landscape and saturated soil combined to provide the perfect ingredients for a massive mudslide. In the path of that mudslide were Highway 58 and an estimated 200 vehicles.

Heavy, sticky mud encased cars, pickups and tractor-trailers and completely shut down the road. Drivers who were fortunate enough not to be trapped by dirt and debris retreated to safety. Many of the travelers and professional drivers sought refuge at Love's 392 approximately four miles from the mudslide.

cars and trucks stuck in mudslide on highway

GM Carlos Morales estimated 400-500 passenger vehicles and trucks hunkered down at the store. In addition to hundreds of stranded motorists, Love's 392 became a temporary home for a Red Cross tent where volunteers cleaning up the mudslide could seek shelter and grab a bite to eat. Throughout the whole ordeal, the store team kept the Customers' needs in mind.

damaged truck due to CA mudslide

Staff worked extra hours to serve all of the Customers who had nowhere else to go. Employees even parked up to a mile and a half away and walked to work to make more spaces available for those who were stranded and everyone helping in cleanup efforts. Ensuring the store had what it needed to serve the Customers even took extra effort.

"I had to talk to the California Highway Patrol to get a fuel delivery to my store," said Morales. "Most of my competitors ran out of fuel. We all just had to keep working hard to serve the Customer."

submerged cars in CA mudslide