RAIN DELAY WET SPELL SNARLS TRAFFIC, EASES FIRE THREAT.Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer The Southland's record dry spell was broken briefly Monday by a trace of rain - just enough to create havoc for commuters and temporarily ease worries about brush fires. Rain-slick roadways were blamed for a spate of fender-benders, as well as the death of a 36-year-old driver for High Desert Towing in Littlerock, who was killed when his truck ran off the Antelope Valley Freeway The Antelope Valley Freeway is a freeway in Los Angeles and Kern counties in southern California. It is signed as California State Highway 14 along its length. It connects Greater Los Angeles to the rapidly developing Antelope Valley. . The unidentified driver died when his flatbed truck A flatbed truck is a type of truck which can be either articulated or rigid. It has an entirely flat, level body with absolutely no sides or roof. This allows for quick and easy loading of goods, and consequently they are used to transport heavy loads that are not delicate or slid off the northbound freeway, plunged down a 75-foot embankment and overturned, California Highway Patrol highway patrol n. A state law enforcement organization whose police officers patrol the public highways. officials said. ``It was raining heavily,'' said CHP CHP Chapter CHP Combined Heat and Power CHP California Highway Patrol CHP Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (Turkish: Republican People's Party) CHP Chemical Hygiene Plan (OSHA) CHP Community Health Plan Officer Eddie Corugedo. ``The roadway was wet and for some unknown reason he allowed his vehicle to drift.'' The CHP recorded 204 crashes on Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County freeways between 5 and 9 a.m., compared with 85 during the same period one week earlier, when the roads were dry. ``The roads were very slippery. Motorists don't give themselves enough time in the morning,'' said CHP Officer Scott Ellison. The biggest headache in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. occurred at 8:15 a.m. when a big-rig jackknifed along the eastbound Ronald Reagan Freeway, west of De Soto de So·to , Hernando or Fernando 1496?-1542. Spanish explorer who landed in Florida in 1539 with 600 men and set out to search for the fabled riches of the north. Avenue, in Chatsworth. No serious injuries were reported, but lanes were closed for more than an hour. About 0.10 of an inch of rain fell Monday as a cold Pacific storm moved through the area - a sharp contrast to 90-degree temperatures just a week earlier. The storm was expected to linger overnight, then clear out by today. ``It is a delayed season storm,'' said Dessa Garton, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service. ``This is something we see more like in March.'' A normal rainfall season - which is recorded from July 1 through June 30 - would bring Los Angeles 15.14 inches of rain. Year to date, officials have recorded 4.41 inches 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 . The previous driest year was 4.85, recorded in 1960-61. ``If we get (less than) .4 of rain before June 30, then we will be driest ever,'' Garton said. ``There's a slight chance that we'll get that.'' The schizophrenic weather forced fire officials to double their personnel in some stations last week because of the high fire threat across the region. The brush is as brown today and as dry as it typically is in August, officials said, the height of a normal fire season. But fire officials on Monday celebrated, if only briefly, the wet reprieve, and said they would remain on alert. ``This is going to help us for a week, but it won't have any impact long term,'' said John Todd, an assistant chief in the Forestry Division of the 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 . ``Normally in May, brush will still be green. It's ready to burn now.'' Staff Writer Bhavna Mistry contributed to this story. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Monday's traffic headaches included a big-rig crash that blocked traffic on the eastbound Ronald Reagan Freeway. (2) Storm clouds billow above the downtown Los Angeles skyline on Monday in this view from Glendale. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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