The storm was not quite as bad as forecasters
predicted, producing less rain than Wednesday’s downpour. But the
accumulation of rain since Sunday — nearly six inches in some areas —
sent mud sliding down streets in foothill communities hit by last
year’s Station Fire.
Officials remained highly concerned about more
serious mudslides, especially with more showers expected Friday and
another weaker storm scheduled to hit Monday night. Debris basins and
washes were at or nearing capacity in
“We can’t keep running on luck forever,” said Chief
counties due to the series of storms. And many of the more than 1,000
residents ordered evacuated because of the rains are likely to be kept
out of their homes through Monday.
The rains once again caused widespread street and highway flooding.
A host of police and fire agencies scoured the river all the way to the
a distance of nearly 20 miles — using boats, helicopters, and thermal
imaging cameras — but found no sign of the boy and called the search
off. Officials don’t know whether he was able to get out on his own or
drown.
To the north, suspected tornadoes touched down in
“Remember the movie ‘Twister?’ It was like that,” said Ventura Police Sgt.
“Pieces of metal shed siding were sheared off the sheds and actually
propelled into wooden fences, stuck like razor blades. … It picked up
a Chrysler Sebring off the ground, it hovered for a second, and spun it
around. It hit the tree, and it blew out the rear and side windows.”
A tornado warning was also issued for eastern
The weather also caused problems at local airports.
On Thursday afternoon, about 100 people clustered around the
Flights at
But after finding out Thursday afternoon that booking the eight of them on another flight would cost
“We said, ‘Why not just extend our trip for a few days and have an adventure?’ ” Stewart, 32, said.
A good plan, unless they were headed to Sea World,
the city’s top tourist attraction. It was closed due to rain on
Thursday for the first time since 1998.
He said he was considering taking a flight to
“I don’t know whether I can get through on the 5 Freeway,” he said. The
Grapevine was briefly shut down due to snow-slicked roads.
Snow levels were expected to fall to as low as 3,000 feet Thursday night, with gusts of about 50 mph in the mountains.
“The snow will continue to pile up,” said
In
network of catch basins in his sloped backyard and by stacking sandbags.
But nonetheless, a “roaring torrent” threatened to
engulf his backyard as the rains moved in. Working alone, with a
shovel, he managed to dike and channel the flow so that it missed his
house by inches, but was growing tired by afternoon.
“My wife is having conniptions,” he said. “I’m 82, and I shouldn’t be doing this. But I’m going to give it another hour.”
So far, though, the storms haven’t yet had the “punch” needed to unleash the hillside, said
As Cannon watched the storms come in Wednesday and
Thursday, she said, “You could see the streaks of rain headed to the
Station Fire, then it would evaporate or head to the south or head to
the north. We dodged a bullet — at least in this case.”
But Cannon said it’s too soon to declare the threat
over. Even brief, high-intensity showers could be enough to start
debris flowing down ashy, water-logged hills. And another storm is
hovering over the ocean that could make its way to
If it comes this way, Cannon said, “It will be another week like this where we really need to be vigilant and on top of things.”
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