Latest: California storm brings flooding, forces evacuations
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Latest on winter storms in California and Nevada (all times local):
5 a.m.
Hundreds of people fled homes in Northern California and Nevada as a massive winter storm packing heavy rain, strong winds and lightning caused mudslides and widespread flooding.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Russian River in California's Sonoma County and the Truckee River near Reno, Nevada, overflowed their banks late Sunday and officials say both waterways could stay at the flood stage for days.
Schools are canceled Monday in hard-hit Sonoma County, where thousands are without power and many roads are unpassable.
Mudslides caused road closures across the region, including along major highways.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fears of avalanches are growing in the northern Sierra Nevada as rain soaks the snowpack.
Heavy rain has also moved into Southern California, where commuters are warned of flooding along Los Angeles-area highways.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}1 a.m.
A well-known giant sequoia tree known for the huge tunnel carved through it has toppled during California's weekend storms.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/2i8THu8 ) that the historic Pioneer Cabin in Calaveras Big Trees State Park in Calaveras County came down during heavy rains on Sunday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The tree was hollowed out in the 1880s to allow tourists to pass through it.
Cars later used the massive tunnel, but more recently it has hosted only hikers.
Park volunteer Jim Allday of Arnold says the tree shattered as it hit the ground.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}There was no immediate word on what caused the tee to fall, but the Chronicle reports that it probably had to do with the tree's shallow root system and the inundation.