RESIDENTS WARNED OF FLOOD DANGER.Byline: David Greenberg and Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writers Henning Ottsen lives on a quaint residential street that cuts through Hall Canyon and overlooks the Prince Barranca bar·ran·ca also bar·ran·co n. pl. bar·ran·cas also bar·ran·cos Southwestern U.S. 1. A deep ravine or gorge. 2. A bluff. Creek running about 100 feet below. Normally a sound sleeper, Ottsen said he has been kept awake at night since Sunday, when Ventura Fire Department officials warned that he would have only six minutes to evacuate if water broke through an earthen earth·en adj. 1. Made of earth or clay: an earthen fortification; an earthen pot. 2. Earthly; worldly. dam created by a landslide just three miles to the north. ``This water can take 300-pound boulders and move them,'' said Ottsen, who fears that raging waters could strip away the slope that supports his home. Rainwater and runoff started pooling in the barranca's upper east fork after last week's heavy storms. The dam now covers about seven surface acres and measures 35 feet deep in some parts, city officials said. Saturday's rainstorm brought the water to dangerously high levels, creeping Monday to just 3 feet below the dam's lip. If the barrier bursts or if water spills over the top, more than 100 homes would be punished by the overflow cascading down the hillside. ``Well, it held throughout the night, and the water has gone down slightly,'' Ventura police Lt. Carl Handy said Tuesday. Emergency crews have installed a 4-foot-diameter pipe in the dam to divert water, which not only alleviates pressure on the mud wall but helps keep the dam from overflowing. Area homeowners have blanketed the cliffs with plastic tarps to deflect future rainfall in the hope of preventing further erosion. Jim Malony, a Grove Street resident for 34 years, said he has never experienced a greater threat to his home. He laid small walls of 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 both sides of his driveway entrance to keep rainfall from washing away the vegetation on his property. ``Of course I'm concerned, but I'm not overly concerned,'' Malony said. Ventura officials set up a command center in the Ventura High School Ventura High School is a secondary school located in Ventura, California. It is a California Distinguished School which was founded in 1889. Famous Alumni Include: Eric Turner (Cleveland Browns), Jamal Wilkes (Los Angeles Lakers), Tyler Ebell (National High School Heisman), parking lot more than two weeks ago to respond to residents' concerns when the first storm of the month rolled through. It has operated sporadically since then, closing late Tuesday morning as the weather improved. The National Weather Service forecast more rain by Thursday night. After the past weeks' storms, more rain promises more problems for the county's waterlogged wa·ter·logged adj. 1. Nautical Heavy and sluggish in the water because of flooding, as in the hold: a waterlogged ship. 2. hills and valleys. At last estimate, the county's storm-related losses totaled $36 million, but damage from this past weekend has yet to be totaled, said Laura Hernandez, manager of the Ventura County sheriff's Office of Emergency Services emergency services Emergency care '…services …necessary to prevent death or serious impairment of health and, because of the danger to life or health, require the use of the most accessible hospital available and equipped to furnish those services' . In other areas, the region's second natural-gas explosion in three days occurred at 6:29 a.m. Tuesday, shooting flames as high as 300 feet in the hills between Emma Wood State Beach Emma Wood State Beach is a protected beach located in the state of California. It is located north of the main city of Ventura. Although known by its camping it is probably most famous for its amazing surf. Emma Wood has a great shore break which has resulted in many surf contests. and Solimar Beach. The fire was extinguished at 6:51 a.m. when a sensor in the 20-inch pipe detected a variance in pressure and automatically shut it down, said Joe Luna, spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department Not to be confused with Ventura Fire Department. The Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) provides fire protection and emergency response services for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California, and for six other cities within the county. . Luna said the Southern California Gas This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. Co.-owned underground valve broke as a result of landslides that might have put additional pressure on the pipes. On Saturday, a separate natural-gas line ruptured above the San Jon Barranca. No injuries were reported in either incident, but Saturday's incident may have caused two crude-oil pipelines to break. A coalition of oil company, county and federal workers continued efforts to reach the ruptured segments of the Shell Oil and Texaco pipelines. Workers mopped up about 50 gallons of oily water in the barranca, said Dave McKinney, spokesman for Shell Oil. Most of the crude oil released from the pipelines is believed to be trapped in a pool beneath the ruptured segment of the pipelines. ``There are people working in the area trying to get to the pipelines, but the ground is still so unstable,'' McKinney said. ``One of our priorities is get in there as soon as it's safe and restore service to the pipelines.'' The pipes carry crude oil from Ventura to refineries in the Los Angeles Basin The Los Angeles Basin is the coastal sediment-filled plain located between the peninsular and transverse ranges in southern California in the United States containing the central part of the city of Los Angeles as well as its southern and southeastern suburbs (both in Los Angeles . About 42 gallons of the crude oil is believed to have reached the ocean, said Dana Michaels, spokeswoman for the state Department of Fish and Game's spill prevention and response office. ``At this point, we're in great shape,'' she said. ``So far we 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. for certain of any wildlife deaths.'' Along the hillside near the ruptured pipelines, a mother raccoon raccoon, nocturnal New World mammal of the genus Procyon. The common raccoon of North America, Procyon lotor, also called coon, is found from S Canada to South America, except in parts of the Rocky Mts. and in deserts. and cubs were seen trying to scale the slope. Workers said the raccoons had oil-stained feet as they moved through contaminated areas. ``Those animals may ingest in·gest tr.v. in·gest·ed, in·gest·ing, in·gests 1. To take into the body by the mouth for digestion or absorption. See Synonyms at eat. 2. the oil if they are trying to clean it off, and that could be toxic,'' Michaels said. ``It could make them sick or kill them, depending on how much they ingest and their general health.'' CAPTION(S): Map MAP: Storm Damage Daily News |
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