RAINS BRING ONLY SMALL PROBLEMS.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Daily News Staff Writer

An all-day shower that soaked the county Tuesday didn't stop a small brush fire from breaking out in Simi Valley.

Two units responded to West Los Angeles Avenue and Easy Street at 2:27 p.m. Tuesday when fire broke out near a homeless camp, said Charles Carranza, Ventura County fire dispatcher. The fire burned a 20-foot-by-20-foot area, Carranza said.

``Grass will burn in the rain, I guess,'' he said.

A couple of noninjury crashes occurred on rain-slick Highway 118, a solo crash at Rocky Peak and a two-car collision at Tapo Canyon, the California Highway Patrol reported. Officials could not say if rain was a contributing factor in those crashes.

Rain, however, most likely caused a power outage to coastal homes in the Sea Cliff area.

About 35 customers were without power at 1:36 p.m., said Rudy Gonzales, regional manager for Southern California Edison. Crews were still working on the problem and the cause was not known two hours after the outage.

``We would presume it's rain-related since it's raining pretty good out in that area,'' Gonzales said.

Residents should see some relief today, waking up to partly cloudy skies and windy conditions, said Stuart Seto, weather specialist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Highs will be in the upper 50s, with overnight lows

in the 40s.

Thursday should be mostly sunny and breezy with temperatures in the mid-60s, Seto said.

``It's going to be really gusty out there,'' Seto said.

Friday should be fair with temperatures rising to the 70s and some clouds are expected to move back into the area by Saturday, dropping temperatures to about 65 degrees, Seto said. However, no rain is expected.

By noon Tuesday rainfall at the Oxnard weather office registered .21 inches.

The rain may have inconvenienced commuters who had to make their way on slippery roadways but it was a welcome sight for farmers.

``This rain is real good for us,'' said Earl McPhail, county agricultural commissioner.

However, the rainfall for this year is still half of what it should be in a normal year, he said.

``We only got three to four inches and we should be at six to eight inches,'' McPhail said.

It's unlikely this year's rainfall will reach the level it should be, said Terry Schaeffer, agricultural meteorologist.

``If we don't get more significant rain, we need in excess of an inch. If not, we'll be on a summer irrigation schedule,'' which means farmers would have to irrigate their crops three to four weeks earlier than normal, he said. ``It'll cost time, money and electricity and everything else.''

McPhail said one light rain year won't hurt the county's agriculture industry because the aquifers are still in good shape. Crops benefiting from the recent rainfall are animal feed such as oat hay and barley, he said.

``Any rain we get is good,'' McPhail said.

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) Linda Hirneise walks her dog, Apache, on Reyes Adobe Road in Agoura on Tuesday.

(2--Ran in Conejo Edition only) A cyclist braves the rain along Agoura Road in Westlake on Tuesday morning. Partly cloudy skies are on tap for today.

Tina Gerson/Daily News