Big storm brings new worries to California

LOS ANGELES — California was lashed Friday by heavy rains that the parched state so desperately needs, though with the soaking came traffic snarls, power outages and the threat of mudslides.

Even with rainfall totals exceeding six inches in some places by midday, the powerful Pacific storm did not put a major dent in a drought that is among the worst in recent California history.

The first wave of the storm doused foothill communities east of Los Angeles that just weeks ago were threatened by a wildfire — and now faced the threat of mudslides. Small debris flows covered one Glendora street but no property damage occurred, police said. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for about 1,200 homes in the area.

Forecasts called for the storm to last through yesterday in California before trundling east into similarly parched neighboring states. Phoenix was expecting its first noticeable precipitation in two months.

In Los Angeles, rising water forced police to close major roads crossing the Sepulveda Basin. The flood-control area for the Los Angeles River on the San Fernando Valley floor is maintained as a wildlife refuge and recreation center but is otherwise kept clear of development.

A Fire Department swiftwater team rescued two men and two dogs from a perch on a tree trunk in the fast-moving Los Angeles River.

Power outages hit about 24,000 customers, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Southern California Edison said.

Rain was also falling in the central coast counties, in the San Francisco Bay region and in the Central Valley. Winter storm warnings were in effect in the Sierra Nevada for heavy snowfall.

Around San Francisco Bay, the storm led to an urban and small stream flood warning, as rain in excess of a half-inch an hour moved in, according to the National Weather Service. Wet roadways and crashes slowed the morning commute, and there were isolated power outages.

Some arriving flights at San Francisco International Airport were delayed by more than four hours, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Weather conditions at Los Angeles International Airport caused cancellations of nine arrivals and 10 departures, officials said.

The storm's full force was expected to be felt later Friday morning, with possible thunderstorms and rains up to an inch per hour, the National Weather Service said.

On Thursday, mandatory evacuation orders were issued for about 1,000 homes in Glendora and Azusa, about 25 miles east of Los Angeles that sit beneath nearly 2,000 acres of steep mountain slopes stripped by fire in January. People were not forced out, but some residents quickly heeded the call.

Dana Waldusky's home survived the fire, which firefighters stopped 15 feet from their back fence.

"This time there's nothing you can do. You can't stop water," said Waldusky, 22.

While concern was highest in the Glendora-Azusa area, meteorologists also posted flood watches for many other areas denuded by fires over the past two years.

California's rain totals are far below normal and it will take a series of drenching storms to make a dent in a statewide drought that is among the worst in recent history.

The state Department of Water Resources took a new survey of the Sierra Nevada snowpack on Thursday and found the water content at only 24 percent of average for the date. The northern and central Sierra snowpack normally provides about a third of the water used by California's cities and farms.

Farmer Ray Gene Veldhuis, who grows almonds, walnuts and pistachios and runs a 2,300-cow dairy in the Central Valley's Merced County, welcomed the wet weather doubted it will rescue California from drought.

"This is actually getting back to normal rather than being abnormal," Veldhuis said in an interview Thursday. "It's kind of a blessing. Hopefully, they keep coming. If not, we'll deal with the hand we're dealt."

The storm also was good news for other Californians who didn't have to worry about mudslides.

Kite-surfer Chris Strong braved pelting rain to take advantage of strong winds that gave him about an hour of fun over the pounding surf in the Sunset Beach enclave of Huntington Beach.

"I don't get to kite here in these conditions very often — only a handful if times — but you put them in the memory bank," he said.

In San Diego, rain was intermittent. Surfers stood on the beach and watched wind-churned waves roll in but did not dare go in because of the risk of getting a staph infection or other illness from the waters contaminated from runoff.

Surf schools cancelled lessons but asked their customers to be patient.

"It's unruly out there now but when the storm settles and it cleans up, there will be the best waves in the next few days," said Rick Gehris of Surfari Surf School.