California Rain Storm Updates: Man Found Dead, Trapped Hikers Risky Rescues

California Rain Storm Update March 2, 2014, 7:20 P.M. PST

California Rain Storm Updates: Man Found Dead, Trapped Hikers Risky Rescues 

San Diego County search and rescue teams discovered the body of a 55-year-old man whose kayak was found upside down Saturday at Lake Sutherland Dam in Ramona. The man, whose name has not been released, was found dead about 10:00 A.M. Sunday, sheriff’s Lt. Jason Vickery said.

High surf breached a sand berm in Long Beach late Saturday during an unusually high tide, said Will Nash, a spokesman for the Long Beach Fire Department. The water caused minor damage in parking garages and lower levels of about 20 homes there, he said.

By Saturday evening, the storm had dropped over 3 inches of rain in downtown LA, nearly 4.5 inches in Van Nuys in the valley, and almost 12 inches at Cogswell Dam in the Angeles National Forest, according to the National Weather Service.

Four hikers were rescued overnight after trapped by rising floodwaters in Malibu Creek State Park, sheriff’s officials said Sunday. 

The hikers were rescued around 3:00 A.M. and flown out by helicopter after a risky rescue, LA County sheriff’s Capt. Mike Parker said.

The hikers were cold and exhausted but not injured.

They’d become trapped between a high wall and rising floodwaters at Malibu Creek in a remote area of the park.

One hiker called for help around 6:30 p.m. as it became dark and their cellphones were dying, the sheriff’s department said.

A storm that has pounded California through the weekend has eased. Residents in the LA County cities of Glendora and Azusa that had been under mandatory evacuations were allowed back into their homes. Monrovia residents had been allowed back late Saturday, officials said.

The storm has been the largest since 2010. It kept emergency planners and rescue crews busy, but failed to produce enough rain to pull California out of a crippling drought crisis in terms of the state’s vast farming industry.

The precipitation brought LA region to about half its normal rainfall for the season, Bill Patzert, a climatologist for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, told the Los Angeles Times.

Sources: CBS Local, Los Angeles Times, Fox News

California Rain Storm Update March 2, 2014, 6:00 A.M. PST

Possibly Radioactive Debris Piled On beaches, Sinkholes, ‘We know where the mud’s gonna go’ Officials Say

California Rain Storm Updates: Possibly Radioactive Debris Piled On beaches, Sinkholes, ‘We know where the mud’s gonna go’ Officials Say

California’s rain strom sent mudslides down foothill communities, downed trees, flooded roadways, brought massive amounts of ppssibly radioactive debris onto beaches, and opened sinkholes.

Thousands of Californians remain without power and saturated mountainsides loom over foothill communities as the storm rotates bands of rain into a state desperate for moisture but not at such dangerously high rates. 

Officials warn that lengthy lulls in rain does not mean the worst of effects of California’s rain strom are over, including mudslides. They urge residents who evacuated as much as three days ago to be patient.

“These mountains are now saturated and soaked. We know where the mud’s gonna go, we just don’t how much and what the intensity is going to be,” Assistant Chief Steve Martin of the Los Angeles County Fire Department told a webcast news conference.

Evacuation orders remain in effect for hundreds of homes in Los Angeles County foothill communities where January fires burned away vegetation that had held soil in place. Hard rains caused the mountains to belch debris flows down roads and into yards.

The rain would have to become common for months to make serious inroads against a severe drought California has suffered, according to forecasters. 

Rain and snow also finally arrived to drought-stricken New Mexico. In Denver, a highway pileup of over 100 vehicles killed one person and injured 30 others in heavy snow Saturday, authorities said.

The National Weather Service says the storm will continue to move across the nation, eventuating in a severe ice storm in the east where temperatures will again plummet to sub-zero conditions. Weather warnings have been issued for the northeat, expecting up to 12 inches of snow.

Before reaching the northeast, the storm will move over the Rockies, into the Plains and Mississippi Valley on Sunday, bringing precipitation. Colorado could see up to 6 inches of fresh snow. Sleet and snow will turn to snow only in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois — with up to 8 inches forecast for Kansas City and St. Louis areas — while northern Arkansas will have freezing rain.

The system will then impact the Appalachians and East Coast into Monday.

Source: Washington Post, The Gazette

Californians Told To Brace For Worse, Hillsides Unstable, 12-Ft Waves, More Evacs

A strong low-pressure storm system still off California’s coast will move inland during this weekend, bringing up to 3 more inches of rain, up to 10 inches of snow in some mountain areas, 12-ft waves, flash flooding, possible tornados and hurricane force wind gusts. From San Bernardino and Riverside to San Diego counties, residents brace for wind gusts of 65 mph or more.

Friday night, lightning, strong winds at least one tornado toppled huge trees and power lines, mudlsides and 12-ft. waves slammed southern California, where officials have ordered more evacuations.

“Mud is extremely heavy, and people can get stuck real quick,” Sgt. Sam Fleming warned, especially about the Azusa area. “Should that hillside go, it’s going to happen quickly. We’re wanting to get as many people out quickly … because there won’t be a lot of time.”

Foothill communities in eastern San Gabriel Valley have mudflows and some hillsides are unstable. “Mandatory” evacuations there remain in effect.

“Mandatory” evacuations remain for foothill communities of Glendora and Azusa, east of Pasadena and near the Angeles National Forest. 

The national forest is where an illegal campfire erupted into a 2,000-acre blaze in Jan., destroying five homes and leaving thousands of homes at risk of today’s rain storm because of denuded slopes.

Police ordered more evacuations Friday evening, that applies to all 26 homes on Ridge View Drive in the Colby fire burn area.

“The hillside is not stable,” said Azusa police Sgt Fleming about the town where already, 2 to 3 feet of mud covers backyards of a couple of homes. 

A flash flood watch remains in effect for large parts of Southern California amid a powerful rain expected  through Sunday.

Officials warned of possible coastal flooding and waves over 12 feet at some beaches Saturday. In the mountains, snow levels dropped to 5,500 feet. .

Early Saturday, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for parts of L.A. County and posted on Twitter a map showing “a weak tornado near Walnut, Azus.” 

L.A. saw its driest year on record in 2013. This storm has been the most significant rain in two years. Historically, Southern California has a reputation for being where it never rains, but when it does, “man it pours,” as heard in the 1972 hit song by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood.

Sources: LA Times, Florida2014/YouTube, Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood/YouTube

Photo Credits: NOAA, Twitter,

Feb. 28, 2014 7:45 P.M. PST

A funnel cloud, very rare for southern California, has been photographed early this evening from Interstate 5 near Woodland. 

Photo Credit: Stephanie De Bo/KRCA News 

Photo Credit: Julie Stone

 Feb. 28, 2014 3:00 P.M. PST

California Rain Storm Updates: Damage Reports Pour In, 25K Without Power, Worse Tonight

Part of a roof collapsed on N. Lima and San Fernando Streets in Burbank. No injuries were reported. 

A forty foot tree fell on a house.

Streets have been turned into muddy streams.

Neighborhoods are scenes of disasters.

Approximately 25,000 to 32,000 southern California customers were without power as of 4 P.M. Neighborhoods with the highest number of customers without power as of 2:00 P.M. were Brentwood: 880; East Hollywood: 847; Pacific Palisades: 813; Sawtelle: 784; Echo Park: 698; Beverly Crest: 690; Encino: 570; Bel Air: 510; Hyde Park: 398; Canoga Park: 141; Reseda: 107; West Adams: 42; El Sereno: 35; and Larchmont: 27.

Natural gas services were not being affected by the storm. Southern California Gas Company officials, however, have issued a warning to residents not to proactively turn gas meters off.  

Customers who smell gas odor or suspect a leak have been advised to call 911. 

First responders rescue man and dog. (Photo Credit: Julia Stone)

Update Feb. 28, 2014 13:00 P.M. PST

Instagram and Twitter are busy this afternoon with drenched Californians comparing photos of a muddy mess in their yards and neighborhoods, hundreds of which are without power.

The Los Angeles Fire Department Swiftwater Rescue Team successfully rescued two men and two dogs out of the Los Angeles River on Friday morning. 

(Photo Credit: Julia Stone)

The National Weather Service says this is the “largest rain event” in Southern California since March 2011.

Homes and roadways form debris and pollution streams.

Photos: Los Angeles News Group​, Storify, Instagram, Sarah Batch

Update Feb. 28, 2014 1:00 P.M. PST

Meteorologist (CBM) Ginger Zee at ABC News, New York posted the footage below of debris flowing in a California suburb.

Power outages have affected 10,000 Southern California Edison customers from Santa Barbara to Murrieta, the Rosemead-based agency reported. 

Edison energy company spokesman David Song said many of the unplanned outages were weather-related.

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported 14,000 homes without power including those in San Fernando Valley: 1,536 customers in Canoga Park, 864 in Encino, 615 in Northridge, 400 in Valley Glen and 197 in Winnetka.

“While traffic crashes have slowed down, we still have several SigAlerts in effect mostly due to big rigs, disabled vehicles and flooding in areas,” California Highway Patrol Officer Tony Pollizi said.

North of Santa Clarita, a mudslide occurred on Lake Hughes Road. Several cars were trapped, but no homes were threatened and no residents were evacuated.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered Friday morning in Monrovia after the NWS issued a flash flood warning, meaning flooding and mud slides are imminent.

Monrovia officials went door to door to evacuate 200 residents after the NWS issued a flash flood warning in Monrovia, city officials said.

The evacuations cover Highland Place north of Hillcrest Boulevard, Scenic Drive, Lotone, Heather Heights north of Scenic, Avocado Place, 600 block of Hillcrest Boulevard and 900 block of Crescent Drive.

An evacuation center was being organized at the Monrovia Community Center.

At 1:00 P.M., the National Weather Service issued the following advisory about a powerful and dangerous Pacific storm slamming the state of California with two inches of rain per hour, mudslides and flash flooding:

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR... SOUTHWESTERN RIVERSIDE COUNTY IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA... EAST CENTRAL ORANGE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA...
  EXTREME NORTHWESTERN SAN DIEGO COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA...

* UNTIL 100 PM PST

* AT 1148 AM PST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   FLASH FLOODING FROM A THUNDERSTORM NEAR RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA...OR EAST OF MISSION VIEJO AND WEST OF MURRIETA. THE STORM PRODUCING FLASH FLOODING WAS NEARLY STATIONARY. HEAVY RAIN HAS DECREASED...BUT SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE TO ADD TO THIS FLASH FLOODING SITUATION UNTIL 1 PM.

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO THE FALLS BURN AREA LEADING INTO WESTERN PORTIONS OF LAKE ELSINORE AND LAKELAND VILLAGE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

WATERSHEDS BURNED IN 2013 WITHIN THE FALLS BURN AREA ARE PARTICULARLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO FLASH FLOODS AND DEBRIS FLOWS FROM THIS RAINSTORM. STRUCTURES...ROADS...TRAILS...AND CAMPGROUNDS LOCATED ALONG DRAINAGES WITHIN OR BELOW THE BURNED BASINS CAN BE IMPACTED BY FLASH FLOODS AND DEBRIS FLOWS. THIS INCLUDES...BUT IS NOT RESTRICTED TO...THOSE NEAR HIGHWAY 74...AND ALL HOMES...ROADS AND STRUCTURES LOCATED BELOW THE BURN AREA ON BOTH SIDES OF GRAND AVENUE BETWEEN MACY STREET AND SANTA ROSA DRIVE. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON POST-FIRE DEBRIS FLOWS AND WHAT TO DO IF YOU LIVE NEAR A RECENTLY BURNED AREA...GO TO LANDSLIDES.USGS.GOV/RESEARCH/WILDFIRE/

RESIDENTS AND MOTORISTS IN AND BELOW RECENTLY BURNED AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO HEAVY MUD AND DEBRIS FLOWS WHICH MAY BLOCK ROADS AND
CULVERTS. POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS FLOODING AND PROPERTY LOSS COULD RESULT IN AREAS WHERE RUNOFF IS RESTRICTED OR BLOCKED.
_________________

Original Story

Two inches of rain per hour are expected in southern California where some areas are under mandatory evacuations. Los Angeles suburbs Azusa, Glendora and Monrovia are at particular risk as a second powerful Pacific storm soaked hillsides left bare from recent fires. 

Other large areas including Ventura County are under threat of tornados. Flash flood warning are also in effect for large areas, according to the National Weather Service.

Tweets about the storm include this from ProSurfTalk ‏@ProSurfTalk twelve minutes ago:

RT @Surfrider: Billions of gallons of polluted runoff are likely to flow into the ocean during this California storm. http://bit.ly/N9W11S 

NOAA put the powerful storm into persepective with the map below.

Drought relief with a harsh twist

“It’s a little scary, but we want to stay,” said Yvonne Bobadilla of Glendora. “It’s hard to move with three dogs.” 

Glendora and Azusa issued the mandatory evacuation order at noon Thursday. Then, a stronger Pacific storm system moved into the Southland late Thursday night and was expected to intensify through Friday morning.

“Even in the most minor amount of rain, our street floods,” said Jerry Nicholas of Glendora. “There’s a lot of folks here that are really scared.”

With 2,000 acres of mountain slopes near the LA suburbs denuded by the Jan. wildfire, officials fear a stronger storm could trigger a series of devastating mudslides.

“You’ve got a recently burned hillside here with limited vegetation and a very steep slope. It’s a recipe for what the experts say is potential for a great deal of damage,” Sgt. John Madaloni said to local news outlet KCAL 9.

The Colby Fire destroyed five homes and damaged 17 others on Jan. 16.

Despite sunny blue skies behind the first storm, mandatory evacuation orders were issued for about 1,000 homes in two of Los Angeles’ eastern foothill suburbs beneath steep mountain slopes the fire left bare. 

The burn impact area includes homes north of Sierra Madre between the western city boundaries of Azusa and Glendora to the eastern boundary of homes on the west side of the Little Dalton Wash, near Loraine Avenue.

“These areas have the highest risk of being impacted by flooding/debris flows from rainfall due to the loss of vegetation from the foothills,” the city of Glendora said in a statement.

Residents were allowed to pack their belongings 8:00 last night, according to officials, but the city urged residents to leave the area as soon as possible.

Crews lined the streets with 10,000 feet of K-rails. Some residents chose to stay, despite the evacuation order.

The rain that passed through San Francisco earlier this week, caused over 100 flights to be cancelled. It’s possible that Friday’s storm will cause similar traveler inconveniences.

There’s a chance that small tornadoes could develop in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, according to forecasters.

“We’re going get more rain in the next 48 hours than we’ve seen in the past two years,”  NASA climatologist Bill Patzert told CBS News, before adding that the state’s drought will still be far from over regardless. 

Flash flooding is also expected. The National Weather Service issued the following statement moments ago:

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 130 PM PST FOR
SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO AND NORTHWESTERN RIVERSIDE COUNTIES...

AT 1106 AM PST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE THUNDERSTORMS NEAR HIGHLAND...OR NEAR REDLANDS...WHICH ARE LIKELY PRODUCING FLASH FLOODING. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MMOVING VERY SLOWLY EAST.

OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO SAN
BERNARDINO...RUNNING SPRINGS...MUSCOY AND CRESTLINE

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...URBAN AREAS...HIGHWAYS...STREETS AND UNDERPASSES AS WELL AS OTHER DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW LYING SPOTS.

“This storm is what I call a down payment on drought relief, but there is no quick fix for a drought that is this deep and this long,” Patzert said.

Source: ABC News