This week’s torrential rains didn’t solve drought, but may have ended fire season

DROUGHT-STRICKEN, FIRE-PLAGUED California asked for rain — and got a bomb cyclone and a Level 5 out of 5 atmospheric river that pounded the state Sunday and into the start of a new week.

In other words: Rain, and lots of it. Enough to force evacuations in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties due to the threat of flash floods and mudslides near wildfire burn scars — and to prompt evacuation warnings, debris flow warnings and flash flood advisories throughout Northern and Central California. Enough to knock out power for about 148,000 PG&E customers. Enough to start a landslide that shut down a portion of Highway 70 and to stir powerful winds that flipped over two trucks on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. And enough to cancel hundreds of flights; call off the Ironman California race scheduled in Sacramento; and close numerous roads, ferries, bridge sidewalks and other locations.