SKIES BRING RAIN, FREEWAY CRASHES MORE THAN A DOZEN INCIDENTS TAX AREA LAW ENFORCEMENT RESOURCES.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff writer

SANTA CLARITA - A light yet steady rain caused havoc on local freeways Tuesday morning, resulting in more than a dozen crashes and stretching law enforcement and tow-truck staffing to the limits.

Sixteen cars were involved in four separate collisions on the southbound Antelope Valley Freeway, according to California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Michelle Esposito.

"We got 101 calls and handled 15 crashes," she said. Noninjury incidents are referred to the CHP office for report-taking, Esposito said, in the interest of getting help to those with a greater need.

On the northbound Golden State Freeway north of McBean Parkway, a big rig traveling at an unsafe speed saw traffic slowing and braked, overturning onto the shoulder and into the right lane of traffic, causing lanes to be shut down for nearly an hour around midday.

Esposito added that a fellow CHP officer traveling on the shoulder of the Antelope Valley Freeway attempting to get to the scene of another incident near San Fernando Road was involved in a minor collision when a van swerved to the right and clipped the left rear of the patrol car, causing minor damage.

"There were no major injuries in any of the collisions; that's the good news," she said.

By late morning, every Newhall CHP unit was tied up handling accidents, including a 10-car pileup on the southbound Route 14 at Placerita Canyon Road that tied up traffic from Golden Valley Road on the north end and San Fernando Road on the south.

The northbound I-5 was the site of two other significant events: 50 gallons of diesel fuel spilled just north of Castaic Road, requiring county road and Caltrans crews dumping sand in the area to absorb the spill, and a 12-vehicle incident sent some drivers and passengers to area hospitals with minor injuries.

In addition, the northbound lanes of Weldon Canyon Road at The Old Road were blocked by a mudslide just after noon.

The region received nearly 1.5 inches of rain over the past 48 hours, bringing season totals to almost 14 inches to date, significantly lower than the average of 18.19 inches.

The National Weather Service forecast a 60 percent chance of rain today, with a flash-flood warning in effect through the morning. Thursday will be mostly clear, with clouds returning Friday. There's a 20 percent chance of rain Friday night through Saturday. High temperatures through the week will hover in the low to mid-60 with lows each night in the low 40s.

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) Traffic comes to a standstill on southbound lanes of the Antelope Valley Freeway on Tuesday as 12 vehicles collided just south of Golden Valley Road. Fire and emergency personnel were kept busy with multiple crashes throughout the day caused by heavy rain.

David Crane/Staff Photographer