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Rain soaks region, wreaks havoc

Political science major Amanda Elsasser said that the recent bout of stormy weather to strike the University of La Verne was “inconvenient. I know that we need it but I don't like hiking a mile to my classes because of parking, trying to stay dry.” / photo by Adam Omernik
Political science major Amanda Elsasser said that the recent bout of stormy weather to strike the University of La Verne was “inconvenient. I know that we need it but I don’t like hiking a mile to my classes because of parking, trying to stay dry.” / photo by Adam Omernik

Shelli DeRobertis
Staff Writer

Sunshine replaced clouds Thursday, just a day after rain brought mudslides, floods and disaster to Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties. On Wednesday, Claremont was drenched with 4.09 inches of rain in a 24 hour period, while Los Angeles received 2.2 inches.

The rain began over the weekend and continued, putting many areas at risk for flash floods, mudslides, sinkholes and falling trees.

“We had 525 accidents today, and only 204 last week,” said Tariq Johnson, an officer with Los Angeles County office of the California Highway Patrol. He also reported that between midnight and 3 p.m., there were nine more Sig Alerts on Wednesday than there were all week.

Sig Alert is a term used by CHP when two or more lanes of a road become closed for more than 30 minutes.

The rain caused more than car accidents, however, as a flash flood claimed the life of a 19 year-old man who worked the night shift at the Wildlife Waystation in the Angeles National Forest.

According to several news sources, he was attempting to cross a creek bed in his truck when it was carried 50 yards downstream.

He radioed for help at 1:15 a.m. but the darkness and pelting rain made for a difficult search. More than 90 people joined rescue workers at sunrise, and the young man’s body was later found one and a half miles downstream from his truck.

Lytle Creek and Wrightwood were both clogged by mud, which forced road closures. In Fontana the rain caused a train to derail. In Rancho Cucamonga a 10-foot-wide sink hole formed in a mobile home park when a drainage pipe burst. In Buena Park, part of Manchester Street broke off and formed a gigantic hole in the ground, while over in Fullerton a large section of a roof collapsed in a Staples store.

The 22 freeway was shut down for 10 miles in Orange, and in Garden Grove a tree smashed through a resident’s roof. Animals also felt the storm’s wrath, as some horses had to be rescued in Norco.

As of Thursday the rain was due to subside for a few days, with a chance of showers likely on Sunday for parts of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, according to the National Weather Service.

The Weather Service also advises people to be cautious and prepared to take immediate action should a flash flood or mudslide occur in their whereabouts. Locations prone to flooding are small streams, creeks and drainage areas.

Mudslides occur when a brief downpour falls on an area already saturated by rain.

Shelli DeRobertis can be reached at sderobertis@ulv.edu.

Shelli DeRobertis
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