Slow Storm Spurs Warnings

Warnings of more mudslides and flooding in the valleys were issued Friday, as damage began to mount from a slow but powerful storm that appeared likely to keep pounding Southern California through the weekend and into early next week.

A localized cloudburst dropped 5 to 7 inches of rain Friday in about five hours in part of the San Fernando Valley. The runoff closed an entire gated community in Sunland and sent mud through other homes, prompting about 100 residents to temporarily take refuge at the Sunland Community Center.

In Burbank, part of the roof of a large music store collapsed during the downpour, but workers who had heard cracking evacuated customers before the roof fell in, and no one was injured.

The National Weather Service said as much as 15 inches of rain could fall on mountain slopes below 6,500 feet by Tuesday. Snowfall could range up to 30 inches above 7,000 feet.

Rain will be heaviest this morning through early afternoon, and Sunday night through Monday afternoon, the weather service said. Outside of those times, on-and-off showers with locally heavy showers are expected.

With the ground already saturated, the rain will increase the likelihood of rock and mudslides, particularly in the valleys, the service said. Mudslides also posed a threat to several homes in Culver City and in Mission Viejo and Anaheim.

The Valley downpour began about 2:30 p.m. Friday and continued to redevelop over the same areas, the weather service said, extending from near the Hollywood Hills through Burbank, and north to the Tujunga canyons and Boulder Canyon.

In Sunland, all roads to Riverwood Ranch were closed when the community was inundated by more than a foot of swift water, mud and debris.

Neil Martin, 49, was at work Friday when he received a phone call from a neighbor warning him of rising water at his home. Martin rushed home from downtown Los Angeles to Riverwood Ranch but found he was unable to get in.

He spent part of the evening at a community center. “I’m not getting upset at anybody,” Martin said. “What can you do?”

Although there are about 30 homes in the community, only a few people remained at the evacuation center late Friday night.

“We figured most people are self-sufficient and were able to stay at friends’ homes,” said Fire Battalion Chief Michael Bowman.

South of Riverwood Ranch, flood waters also forced the evacuation of dozens of homes along and near Oro Vista Avenue in Sunland and spilled across the floors of at least four of them.

In a third area of that community, a mudslide on Foothill Boulevard off Schwartz Canyon damaged furniture in eight homes and threatened 40 more, officials said.

Water in the Tujunga Wash briefly rose high enough to spill over the pavement on the Foothill Boulevard bridge.

Bowman said he was told to expect about a half-inch to an inch of rain per hour between 4 a.m. and noon today, and 3 to 4 inches in the local mountains.

“If we see it keeps going this way, we’ll do some evacuation,” he said.

About 3:30 p.m. Friday, employees at the Virgin Megastore in the 800 block of North San Fernando Boulevard heard a section of the roof beginning to crack. The store was evacuated, and about 10 people were still inside when a 20-foot section of the ceiling caved in about 10 minutes later. Officials estimated the damage at $100,000.

Near Studio City, a tree toppled onto a house and in Highland Park, another tree crashed into a home, damaging a living room. No one was injured in either incident.

The weather service said 0.58 of an inch of rain had fallen on downtown Los Angeles between 4 p.m. Thursday and 4 p.m. Friday, raising the total for the season, which began July 1, to 25.85 inches.

Other 24-hour totals by 4 p.m. Friday included 2.37 at Crystal Lake in the San Gabriel Mountains above Azusa; 1.71 in Malibu; 1.08 in Pasadena; 0.62 in Ontario; 0.52 in Hemet; and 0.42 in Palm Springs.

As of 10 p.m. Friday, rain totals in Orange County ranged from 0.35 of an inch at Santa Ana and Garden Grove to 0.63 of an inch at El Toro.

After a brief lull during the night, steady rain was expected to resume before dawn today. The last wave of showers, starting late Sunday, “could potentially bring some very heavy rain and serious flooding concerns,” the weather service said.

Scattered showers are possible Tuesday, especially south and east of Los Angeles.

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Times staff writers Jocelyn Stewart in Los Angeles and David Reyes in Orange County contributed to this report.