WINTER'S BEAUTY, FURY POWERFUL STORM SOCKS SOUTHLAND.

Byline: Erik N. Nelson Staff Writer

The most powerful winter storm in three years pounded Los Angeles and the Greater San Fernando Valley with record rainfall, flooding and power outages - with more of the same expected today, weather forecasters said.

The Alaskan storm dumped nearly 3 1/2 inches of rain on downtown Los Angeles and is expected to bring an additional 1 1/2 inches of precipitation through this afternoon with possible thunderstorms, coastal flooding and heavy mountain snows. The last time this much rain fell so quickly was on Feb. 7, 1998, during the most recent El Nino weather pattern.

Thursday's 1.56 inches was also the wettest Jan. 11 recorded, breaking the record of 1.28 inches set in 1960.

``It's quite a significant event,'' said Bill Hoffer, a meteorological technician with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department warned residents to prepare for possible mudslides.

``They should check every 30 minutes. If they live on a hillside, they should keep an eye on the soils,'' said Dennis Cross, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. ``If they see water starting to build up or mud starting to move, they may want to take action.''

The good news is that the county's 14 reservoirs are starting to fill after nearly 2 1/2 months without rain. Los Angeles now has received 5.29 inches of rain since July 1, compared with 5.83 inches that normally falls during the same period annually.

But the sudden deluge also caused extensive problems, including disrupting electricity to 24,700 Department of Water and Power customers Wednesday night and Thursday, said department spokeswoman Wendy Yancy.

Many of the outages were caused by a mix of dust and moisture causing equipment to fail, but the loss of power to 1,350 customers downtown - including police and public works headquarters - was caused by equipment that caught fire at a distribution station in the 100 block of East 4th Street, Yancy said.

Rain also caused a portion of the roof to cave in at the Orchard Supply and Hardware Store in Burbank early Thursday morning. That caused a water pipe to break, flooding part of the store, said Ron Stahl, vice president of store planning, construction and real estate.

The rain collected on the roof of the Victory Boulevard store because the drain pipes were clogged, said Chief Dave Starr of the Burbank Fire Department. The store was closed while the building was cleaned up and repairs were made.

``We're just trying to button it back up,'' Stahl said, adding that the store was expected to open by today.

Ricky Lee woke up at 1 a.m. Thursday to the sound of a car alarm and the discovery that his car was one of nearly 40 stranded in waist-deep water below two Sherman Oaks apartment buildings.

``I usually like rain, but last night was a nightmare,'' said Lee, who was still trying to get his flooded Ford Mustang out of the subterranean garage. By Thursday afternoon, work crews had pumped the water out of the garage.

Elsewhere, snow closed Interstate 5, and rain caused rockslides, a sink hole, power outages and fallen trees in the Santa Clarita area, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials reported.

At 2:30 a.m. Thursday, the California Highway Patrol closed the Golden State Freeway for an hour at Templin Highway north of Castaic because of snow falling on the Grapevine.

``It was white-out conditions,'' Officer Doug Sweeney said.

In Thousand Oaks, public works crews monitored the North Ranch and Hidden Canyon areas for mudslides in the wake of a 600-acre brush fire in late December that left the hillsides susceptible to instability. More than 1,000 sandbags were placed in the area, where an estimated 4 inches of rain fell during the storm.

In Canyon Country and Saugus, power outages came overnight as winds toppled power lines, Southern California Edison reported.

Specially trained swift-water rescue crews were sent to local fire stations, but by late Thursday none had been deployed, Battalion Chief Michael Singer said.

With more rain expected today, Singer warned residents to avoid low- lying areas in their cars and to stay out of river channels.

Gathering water in Sepulveda Dam prompted the Army Corps of Engineers, which runs the city's flood control system, to close roads in the Sepulveda Basin, which was expected to remain off limits through today.

``This storm has been long overdue and has done a great deal to help us catch up,'' almost to where local water supplies would normally be this time of year, said Dan Lafferty, assistant division head for Los Angeles County's Water Resources Division.

``It's amazing what one good storm will do for you.''

Staff Writers Jennifer Hamm, Patricia Farrell Aidem, David Greenberg and Greg Botonis contributed to this story.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, chart

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) At best, the recent storm brought a kind of wild beauty - at worst, danger. Above, horses and cows poke through snow-blanketed pastureland looking for grass. At left, the fury of the waves stirred up by the storm crashes into the pilings beneath the Ventura Pier as spectators watch from above.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

(3 -- 4 -- color) Art Rodriguez pumps water from a Sherman Oaks apartment garage, above, after the complex's sump pumps couldn't handle Wednesday night's deluge. At right, Brian Batchelder, 12, slides on the snow in Frazier Park.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer

Chart: RAINFALL TOTALS