COUNTY REELS FROM STORM'S FURY; WINDS, RAIN BRING FLOODING, SLIDES.Byline: Sonia Giordani and Don Holland Daily News Staff Writers The winter's fiercest Pacific storm hammered Ventura County with pelting rains and punishing waves Tuesday, flooding creeks and homes, washing out Highway 118 near Moorpark and the main Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. sewer line Noun 1. sewer line - a main in a sewage system sewer main main - a principal pipe in a system that distributes water or gas or electricity or that collects sewage , and triggering landslides in Ventura. Hitting hardest during the morning commute, the storm uprooted trees and downed power lines, forcing street closures and washing out the Metrolink commuter rail service to Camarillo and Oxnard at least through today. A landslide above Emma Woods State Beach prompted the closure of the northbound Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California running from Ventura to Pasadena. It is the principal east-west route through Ventura County and in the southern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. . Rock slides and mudslides blocked Highway 150 west of Ojai, preventing motorists from getting north of Ventura, officials said. There were no deaths reported, though a Ventura County Sheriff's Department The Ventura County Sheriff's Department (VCSD) provides law enforcement for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California, USA, as well as several cities within the county. The cities that VCSD serves are Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, and Thousand Oaks. helicopter crew plucked an unidentified man from the Santa Clara River Santa Clara River may refer to:
Helicopter crews also searched for nearly three hours without success for a boy reported in a drainage canal that flows into the wide river east of Ventura. The boy reportedly was wearing dark clothing and white socks, and a bicycle was reported in the area, but officials said no children were reported missing. ``I have to say that this is probably worse than any storm damage I've seen in my 25 years as a firefighter,'' said Ventura County fire Capt. Tom Kruschke. ``The land is just so saturated at this point that we're seeing a whole lot of slides all over the place - some minor and others not so minor.'' The storm prompted sheriff's officials to declare a countywide state of emergency so cleanup and repairs can be paid for and completed immediately. The move is not as drastic as a disaster declaration, which would enable government agencies to apply for state and federal assistance, said Undersheriff Un´der`sher`iff n. 1. A sheriff's deputy. Richard Bryce. For the first time in more than three years, officials set up an emergency operations center The Emergency Operations Center, or EOC, is a central command and control facility responsible for carrying out the principles of emergency preparedness and emergency management, or disaster management functions at a strategic level in an emergency situation, and ensuring at the Ventura County Government Center. Public agencies monitored the storm, tracking flood-prone areas and coordinating search-and-rescue efforts as well as disaster response teams. The deluge prompted the American Red Cross American Red Cross: see Red Cross. to set up two shelters for local evacuees Resident or transient persons who have been ordered or authorized to move by competent authorities, and whose movement and accommodation are planned, organized and controlled by such authorities. . By early afternoon, only a handful of people had shown up at the shelters, at Port Hueneme Port Hueneme (wī'nē`mē), city (1990 pop. 20,319), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Pacific coast; founded 1870, inc. 1948. It has an artificial deep-sea harbor and is the site of a huge naval construction-battalion (Seabee) center. High School and Westpark Community Center in Ventura. Mary Hughes Cary said she walked away from her Cedar Street apartment in Ventura with only what she could carry - her word processor, one dress and her insulin kit. ``I lived through Hurricane Lily The name Lily has been used for three tropical cyclones in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Lily is not to be confused with Lili, which was used in the Atlantic Ocean.
A rain-swollen stream flooded about a dozen single-story duplexes on Surfside surf·side adj. Situated or sited at or near the seashore: surfside parties; a surfside road. Drive in Port Hueneme. Water, knee-deep in some homes, forced police to evacuate residents, said police Lt. Fernando Estrella. Six of the city's public housing units under renovation also sustained water damage. Heavy runoff turned Ventura's Channel Drive into just that. Gushing gush v. gushed, gush·ing, gush·es v.intr. 1. To flow forth suddenly in great volume: water gushing from a hydrant. 2. water pushed parked cars into the middle of the street and flooded homes, said apartment manager Terrie Nali. ``Really, with this much water, I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what kind of precaution you can take,'' she said as she stood in her garage watching the morning downpour. Throughout the morning, it was touch-and-go for neighbor Art Martin, who stayed home from work to keep an eye on to watch. - Shak. See also: Eye his house on Channel Drive, where water topped curbs and flooded front yards. ``The water came up to the porch, and my son got water and mud inside his car and in the tailpipe tail·pipe n. The pipe through which exhaust gases from an engine are discharged. Also called exhaust pipe. tailpipe Noun a pipe from which exhaust gases are discharged, esp. ,'' Martin said. ``This is the worst I've seen, and I've lived here a long time. It was kind of scary for a while there.'' Pounding surf damaged the county's treasured piers. A dozen pilings and bracings were knocked from the Ventura Pier, which was repaired after losing a 420-foot chunk to rough seas two years ago. Storm-stirred surf took a 100-foot bite from the Port Hueneme Pier, which was rebuilt after winter storms in 1994. The Arroyo Simi was widened from its normal trickle to a swath of churning, muddy water through Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. and Moorpark. ``So far, things are OK, but the forecasters say there's worse to come. But if the storms are spread out, we should be OK,'' said Ken Gilbert, Moorpark's public works director. New for this storm was the Arroyo Vista Community Bridge, connecting the city's Mountain Meadows neighborhood to New Los Angeles Avenue. The bridge was built after 11-year-old Joel Burchfield drowned while crossing the rain-swollen arroyo Jan. 13, 1996. ``I've never crossed the bridge, and we thought it would be a safe spot to see the water from,'' said Cindy Markling, who stood on the bridge with her husband, Joe, and their 5-year-old son, Jeffrey. ``I wanted to show him how the water can be moving really fast; you can really sense how dangerous it could be.'' In Thousand Oaks, park rangers removed a 50-foot pine tree from the roof of a parks building on Conejo School Road. Newbury Park resident Junith Rubin said she woke up early Tuesday morning to find a creek turned into a small river raging through her back yard. ``It has run fast before, but never like this,'' she said. ``The water and the winds were roaring, and my whole yard got plugged up.'' Daily News Staff Writer Gloria Gonzales contributed to this report. WIDESPREAD DAMAGE Ventura County officials declared a state of emergency Tuesday after a punishing El Nino storm brought widespread flooding, landslides and road damage. Some problems caused by the storm: Highway 118 was closed indefinitely between Moorpark and Somis because of a damaged bridge above Long Canyon Creek. Weather-related problems closed Highway 150 west of Ojai, Highway 33 at Wheeler Canyon and the northbound Ventura Freeway at Highway 126. Metrolink commuter rail service to Camarillo and Oxnard was washed out through at least today. About a dozen single-story duplexes on Surfside Drive in Port Hueneme were flooded, forcing evacuations. Water also swept through the Ventura RV Park, which had been evacuated. The Ventura and Port Hueneme piers sustained heavy damage. The main sewer line in Thousand Oaks ruptured, sending millions of gallons of untreated wastewater into local channels. Nine homes along Rincon Beach were damaged, including one that was declared uninhabitable. The Santa Paula Creek channel sustained major erosion damage. CAPTION(S): 5 Photos, Box PHOTO (1--Color) A utility worker walks past a power pole leaning over a flooded field Tuesday in Oxnard, where winds blew trees into power lines. (2--Color) James Brewer sweeps mud along the gutter in front of his Ventura home. Michael Owen Baker/Daily News (3) Thousand Oaks city employee Tony Reveles lays sandbags sandbags small sacks containing sand used to support an anesthetized animal in dorsal recumbency and prevent it from rolling sideways during anesthesia or surgery. on Potrero Road in Westlake Village in an attempt to contain the rising creek. Tina Gerson/Daily News (4) A Ventura County sheriff's helicopter crew searches the Santa Clara River for a boy reportedly swept into a culvert. (5) From left, Sky Goetting, 16, and Jason Hall, 15, ride their bodyboards down Channel Drive in Ventura. Michael Owen Baker/Daily News BOX: Widespread damage (see text) |
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