Hard-hit areas in the Southland begin to dig out
Work crews, residents and business owners traded sandbags for shovels Thursday as cleanup began following a week of storms that claimed one life and caused severe damage to at least 40 homes across Southern California.
Rescue crews shepherded dozens of stranded motorists and trapped residents to safety, but they could not reach Angela Marie Wright, 39, of Menifee, authorities confirmed Thursday. She was found dead in her car Wednesday afternoon, after being swept off the road in storm waters in the Canyon Lake area of Riverside County, authorities said.
Developing: Weather and storm damage updates
One of the hardest-hit areas was the foothill community of Highland in San Bernardino County. There, evacuations remained in place for 140 homes below an unstable 100-foot bluff.
At least 26 homes, most of them in another Highland neighborhood where a creek overflowed, sustained extensive damage. Floodwaters left behind 4 feet of mud and half-buried cars tipped up at odd angles.
It was a miracle that no one died in Highland, said Bill Peters, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Although the skies were clear for at least part of Thursday, forecasters said another storm could move into Southern California on Christmas Day.
The upcoming holiday, as much as the approach of more rain, spurred the cleanup in hard-hit Laguna Beach in Orange County.
“If it had happened any other day, we would take our time to clean,” said Harjit Baggra, owner of Sunglass Gallery. “But this is when everyone comes to buy sunglasses.”
Despite extensive damage to display cases, Baggra opened his store Thursday afternoon under skies that once more called for sunglasses.
More than two dozen businesses were flooded, and piles of carpet were already ripped up and ready for disposal throughout the shopping district.
Residential areas also were trying to recover. Dirk Maes on Thursday joined about 20 friends from his mountain biking club — Laguna RADS — to clear out mud and damaged furniture from his home.
“It has been an unbelievable godsend,” said his wife, Katherin, of the club’s assistance.
He and his family barely escaped as storm waters pounded their Laguna Canyon house early Wednesday morning. Maes spent an hour, in his underwear, trying futilely to clear a path for the surging water.
“The water was moving 35 mph,” he said. “It sounded like a freight train.”
Water gushed into the house after breaking through a metal gate at the edge of the driveway, quickly rising to 4 feet inside. Maes saw his 500-pound motorcycle floating in the backyard.
Firefighters helped them evacuate.
“It was the scariest thing that’s ever happened to us,” Katherin, said. “The worst was having to hand my [3-year-old] son over the fence — he had no idea what was going on.”
Nearby, Carter Pike spent the early morning hours Wednesday rescuing a neighbor and her family. On Thursday, he found something he couldn’t save: his 2008 Dodge Charger.
He watched it floating away, but “it was either help the family or tie down the car,” said Pike, 20. “Human life is definitely more valuable than a car.”
The vehicle wound up 400 yards downhill, wedged beneath a footbridge over Laguna Creek. A huge crane extracted Pike’s mangled car Thursday afternoon, its front end twisted and windshield shattered.
“That car was all I had,” Pike said.
At least 18 homes in Laguna Beach were badly damaged.
Before skies cleared in Laguna Beach, 9.51 inches of rain had fallen over seven days, contributing to the wettest December in the city since 1928. Laguna Beach’s average December rainfall is 1.97 inches, according to National Weather Service spokesman Jamie Moker.
Thursday afternoon, utility workers were still trying to restore power to thousands of homes and businesses across the region. Many roads also remained closed.
San Diego County also took a beating, with flooding at Qualcomm Stadium. But city workers labored nonstop to pump an estimated 1.5 million gallons of water off the field before Thursday’s Poinsettia Bowl between San Diego State and Navy. The game went on as scheduled with a field that was wet but not slushy.
Forecasters predicted that a milder storm system would move in Saturday afternoon. And yet another storm cell could enter the region Tuesday.
Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado declared a state of emergency Thursday for Los Angeles, Kings and Santa Barbara counties in response to the destructive rains. State of emergencies had already been declared in Kern, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo and Tulare counties.
Times staff writer Tony Perry in San Diego contributed to this report.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
