ONE MORE RAINY DAY, THEN SKIES WILL CLEAR.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer A two-week-long siege of rain on Southern California is expected to end tonight, leaving behind water-damaged homes, flooded streets and hundreds of people evacuated in the face of mudslides and other dangers. The storms' toll reached 12 Monday. Three people were confirmed dead in the massive La Conchita mudslide in Ventura County, and a toddler fell from her mother's arms into flooding waters during a rescue attempt in the Antelope Valley. The downpour - actually a series of six storms - has dropped 16.63 inches of rain in downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or since Dec. 27, more than any other 15-day period on record since 1873, state climatologist cli·ma·tol·o·gy n. The meteorological study of climates and their phenomena. cli  ma·to·log William
Mork said. And even more rain fell in other areas.
Fire officials said more than 100 mudslides have been reported in Los Angeles, including those Monday that closed Topanga Canyon with a giant boulder. Coldwater, Laurel and Big Tujunga canyons also were shut, forcing commuters who drive through the passes to the freeways to find other routes. The closure of those commuter shortcuts See Win Shortcuts. added to the congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. on local freeways, which faced their own set of problems with flooded lanes and rain-related crashes. With the ground saturated, homes along a 53-mile stretch of the Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a low transverse range in southern California in the United States. Geography They run for approximately 40 mi (64 km) east-west from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County. from the Hollywood Hills to Ventura County are especially vulnerable, officials said. Residents were warned to stay out of flood-prone areas of Santa Clarita, Sand Canyon, Newhall and the Antelope Valley foothills. ``The danger is as high as it could possibly go,'' said Los Angeles County Fire Department Not to be confused with Los Angeles Fire Department. The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), serves unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, as well as 58 cities and towns that choose to have the county provide fire and EMS services, including the City of La Inspector Ron Haralson. ``No one's really safe.'' Earlier Monday, fire crews found the body of 2-year-old Jamaia Davis, who died when she fell into fast-moving water as a helicopter plucked her and her family from their partly submerged sedan near Palmdale. The toddler's mother had driven around barricades trying to get home to Lake Los Angeles and drove into what firefighters said was water 3 feet or 4 feet deep. Los Angeles County officials put preliminary damage estimates at $19.2 million. The Board of Supervisors is set to vote today to declare a state of emergency, the first step in securing state and federal aid. ``The Antelope, Santa Clarita and San Gabriel valleys have been severely impacted by this severe weather, resulting in a tragic loss of life, injuries and significant property damage,'' Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich Michael Dennis Antonovich (born 1939 in Los Angeles, California) is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors representing the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles County, the Antelope, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, and parts of the San Fernando and San said. ``We are working quickly to secure state and federal support to address the significant damage caused by this severe weather.'' Department of Public Works spokesman Ken Pellman said eight dams in the county - including Big Tujunga, Pacoima and San Gabriel - were full and that water was flowing over the spillways. ``We have received more rain out of this period than just about any other time,'' said Scott Gage, who was manning the county's 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 . ``There is significant flooding throughout the county.'' Los Angeles officials said the city's Emergency Operations Center will remain open through Wednesday, coordinating personnel from some 25 agencies to respond to any emergencies. Residents also are working together. ``We're seeing neighbors coming together ... coming out to help elderly neighbors with wheelbarrows and shovels, to sandbag Sandbag A stalling tactic used by management to deter a company that is showing interest in taking them over. Notes: The company stalls in hopes that a more favorable company will take them over. and to squeegee dirt and mud,'' said Brian Humphrey, spokesman for the city EOC EOC Emergency Operations Center EOC Equal Opportunities Commission (UK) EOC Educational Opportunity Center EOC End Of Course EOC Epithelial Ovarian Cancer EOC Environment of Care (JCAHO) . ``There are homes at risk. The longer the rain, the more our concerns rise about soil movement.'' Lightning, driving rain, high winds and even a brief tornado warning hit Ventura County and Santa Clarita, where mobile-home parks took the brunt of the storm. About a dozen mobile homes were destroyed or heavily damaged Sunday and Monday, including one double-wide in Sand Canyon that fell into the raging Santa Clara River Santa Clara River may refer to:
Residents of Val Verde were trapped in their community when mud gushed down nearly every street, a day after slide warnings were issued by the U.S. Geological Survey. There were similar problems in Piru, where residents below the Santa Felicia Dam were evacuated Monday afternoon when officials feared that spillover spill·o·ver n. 1. The act or an instance of spilling over. 2. An amount or quantity spilled over. 3. A side effect arising from or as if from an unpredicted source: could reach portions of the rural Ventura County town. About 100 residents of Fillmore who had been evacuated Sunday remained at a Red Cross shelter Monday, waiting for the waters of nearby Pole Creek to recede re·cede 1 intr.v. re·ced·ed, re·ced·ing, re·cedes 1. To move back or away from a limit, point, or mark: waited for the floodwaters to recede. 2. . ``I hardly even knew my neighbors before - now I'm sleeping with them,'' said Sam Wynne, 66. ``It's a slumber party for the geriatric.'' Staff Writers Susan Abram, Patricia Farrell Aidem, Troy Anderson, Charles F. Bostwick, Phillip W. Browne, Alex Dobuzinskis, Jason Kandel, Eric Leach, Lisa Mascaro, Rick Orlov and Carol Rock contributed to today's storm coverage. Dana Bartholomew, (818) 713-3730 dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1) Heavy machinery drills holes into a boulder that came to rest on Topanga Canyon Boulevard on Monday, a few miles north of Pacific Coast Highway Pacific Coast Highway may refer to:
(2) Nick Lucas examines the damage to Big Tujunga Road, north of Mount Gleason Avenue, after the roadway was washed out by the incessant rains. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News (3) This Sand Canyon mobile home slipped into the raging Santa Clara River on Monday after the area was overtaken by powerful currents of flood water. David Crane/Staff Photographer |
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