The road conditions were treacherous, for sure. But it still came as a shock when a Los Angeles Fire Department sport utility vehicle careened down a hill and landed in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday.

TV news footage captured the vehicle after it had plunged more than 20 feet with a fire inspector inside, swept away by a mud flow that had gushed in an instant down a fire-scarred mountain in Malibu, Calif. Once his vehicle turned upright after being tossed about by waves, the inspector cracked his door open, jumped out and trudged through muddy waters. He then clambered up the hill to safety, having the mental wherewithal to bring a bag and pair of shoes with him.

Somehow he emerged practically unscathed and was treated at a hospital with only minor injuries, fire officials said, without providing the inspector’s name. Still, it was one of the most dramatic scenes of a furious storm that caused flooding and mudslides in pockets of Southern California this week before it gave way to blue skies on Friday.

The storm turned some roads into rivers, sent muddy water cascading down hills and even briefly produced a tornado farther up the coast. On Friday, crews in Los Angeles County were working to clear roads and pick up more than 4,000 downed trees and branches, officials said. But ultimately the damage across the area was not as severe or widespread as initially feared.

Officials had been most concerned about the areas that had been burned by wildfires last month. The flames destroyed 12,000 structures, but also damaged the soil and weakened its ability to absorb water, leading to sheets of mud moving downhill and collecting debris along the way.