RAIN FORECAST HEIGHTENS CONCERNS; FLOODING FEARED, PRECAUTIONS TAKEN IN VENTURA COUNTY.

Byline: Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writer

Ventura County officials braced for more rain Monday with a new round of storms forecast through the week that could dump more than 8 inches of rain on the area.

Concerns were raised that a dam built by storm debris and mud at Hall Canyon might give away and release up to 30 feet of water into neighborhoods northwest of Ventura High School. Evacuation plans were being readied in case of flooding.

After enduring an estimated loss of $36 million from pummeling rains this month, officials said more rain is sure to cause more damage through the county's water-logged valleys and foothills.

``We expect the numbers will continue to go up with the additional storms forecast,'' said Laura Hernandez, manager of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department's Office of Emergency Services.

With a series of five rainstorms forecast for throughout the week, flood and emergency equipment has been stationed throughout the county, said Ann Sobel, executive director of the Red Cross of Ventura County.

County officials are monitoring the weather and the county's hot spots and will open an emergency operations center if the situation demands.

The series of storms began moving into the county Saturday. Heavy rains washed out a hillside overlooking the San Jon Barranca and ruptured a Shell Oil pipeline. About 8,400 gallons of crude oil are believed to have mingled with the creek water Saturday.

Cleanup crews continued to comb the waters of the barranca for crude oil Monday. A team of about 150 people from local, state, federal and private offices positioned booms to soak up oil before it reached the ocean two miles away, said Greg Hardy, a spokesman for Texaco and Shell Oil.

Workers scrambled to beat the rain forecast for the afternoon and managed to mop up more than 50 barrels of the oily water Monday while county, state and federal officials continued to assess the impact of the spill.

``The only known impact at this time is a report of a dead bird on the beach, and it is unconfirmed if it died as a result of the oil release,'' Hardy said.

About a mile and a half westward, county workers spent Monday pumping water from an earthen dam that formed at the bottom of Hall Canyon over the past week.

Since one of last week's storms brought debris and mud down the East Fork of Hall Canyon just north of the Ventura city line, the small pond of water has grown into a small lake of about 1,000 feet long and about 600 feet wide. Water measures as much as 30 feet deep in some parts.

Residents along Hall Canyon Road, Poli Street and Grove Lane northwest of Ventura High School were being advised of a potential evacuation should the dam break and flood the region, said Debbie Solomon, spokeswoman with the city's Emergency Operation Center.

The Red Cross of Ventura opened a temporary shelter Sunday night at Anacapa Junior High School after Ventura police and fire officials contacted about 50 homeowners in the area, notifying them that the dam could break and require evacuation. An additional 100 homeowners were told to be ready to evacuate Monday.

``When the pond was first found last week, it was not considered a threat. But the rain from Saturday has made it a threat and water has started to leak a little,'' Sobel said.

Beaches along Ventura County's coastline remained closed so that surfers and swimmers would not be exposed to potentially contaminated water. For the past two weeks, warning signs were posted for more than 20 miles along the beach after a Thousand Oaks sewage pipeline ruptured Feb. 3, dumping more than 80 million gallons of untreated wastewater into the Arroyo Conejo and into the Pacific Ocean.

The city's Unit W sewer pipeline, which ruptured two weeks ago, was repaired Thursday and was restored to its full use early Saturday.

MaryJane Lazz, acting city manager for Thousand Oaks, said the pipeline is expected to hold up through the next round of storms. But the city could take another beating this week.

``Communities like Thousand Oaks with south-facing foothills will probably get another good sweep of rain this week,'' said National Weather Service specialist Stuart Seto.