CITY DIGS OUT FROM UNDER MUD, DEBRIS AFTER STORM.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Daily News Staff Writer

Work crews on 24-hour standby through the soggy weekend continued cleanup activities on Monday after seven inches of rain inundated Santa Clarita in the first major storm of the season.

``We have a list of about 20 spots where we needed to clean up mud and debris that washed down in the rain,'' Dennis Welch, the city's streets superintendent, said Tuesday.

Crews cleared sidewalks near Saugus High School and mopped up along Sierra Highway and Sand Canyon where the weekend's deluge washed mud and rocks into the roadways. Welch said heavy damage was avoided because the city's Storm Water Utility has cleared drainage areas in anticipation of a winter of heavy rain prodded by the El Nino warm ocean water phenomenon.

Teams of workers also kept an overnight watch on local waterways, the sites of last-minute clearing by county crews concerned that vegetation would block flood control systems.

``We came out pretty decent considering the amount of rain we received,'' Welch said. ``On Saturday, it never seemed to let up. It rained all night.''

Nearly six inches of rain fell on Santa Clarita in the storm's first 24 hours, followed by about 1.5 inches Sunday and scattered showers on Monday.

The National Weather Services predicted clear skies today and Monday with light winds and cool temperatures. The high today will be 58 degrees with an overnight low about 38, according to the forecast.

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PHOTO (color) Scott Barschig, a worker for the city of Santa Clarita, clears mud off Bouquet Canyon Road.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News