Alkali, Dust : Rain Residue Not Harmful, Officials Say

Sticky powder that fell with the rain in Riverside, San Bernardino and other Southern California communities was merely wind-borne alkali and desert dust, the South Coast Air Quality Management District concluded Thursday.

AQMD Deputy Director Jim Birakos said laboratory analysis of the stuff that stained car finishes and other surfaces late Wednesday show it was not acidic and apparently not harmful to human beings. He recommended hosing off automobiles to avoid scratching paint, however.

By Thursday morning, that idea already had occurred to thousands of car owners, turning the blown dust into a windfall for car wash owners.

“We have been absolutely mobbed since 8 this morning,” said Brenda Trawick, a cashier at Anaheim West Car Wash. “We’ve done 500 cars so far today--probably more than 700 by the end of the day.” She said the maximum for a normal day is 300.

“It’s a zoo out here,” said Roger Stanford, manager of Beacon Bay Auto Wash in Newport Beach. “We’ve never had so many cars. We’ll push a thousand. . . . . We have 11 car washes in Orange County, and they’re all busy today.”

Birakos said there were reports that “a burst of storms” lifted a huge amount of alkali from the bottom of the Owens Dry Lake bed in the Mojave Desert and carried it aloft.

Winds were gusting up to 60 m.p.h. in some parts of Southern California on Wednesday, at one point blowing so much dust that California 138 in the Antelope Valley had to be closed because of near-zero visibility.

When the dust and alkali particles finally came to earth with the rains late in the day, Birakos noted, they formed “star-burst patterns.” Close inspection showed that they were in different colors--orange, yellow and white, Birakos said.

Gentle Winds

Winds were gentle in Orange County Thursday. The heavy winds elsewhere abated and were expected to lose even more enthusiasm today and Saturday, but they were strong enough early Thursday morning to rip an 8-by-40-foot section of the roof of a Vons supermarket in the 600 block of Foothill Boulevard in the La Canada Flintridge area. Water pipes ruptured, causing extensive damage to the stock.

High temperatures Thursday in Orange County were 73 in Santa Ana, 70 in San Juan Capistrano, 69 in El Toro and 67 in Newport Beach. Lows ranged from the middle to upper 40s.

Sunny Weather Predicted

The National Weather Service predicted mostly sunny weather in Orange County today through Tuesday, with northeast winds in some areas reaching 15 m.p.h. to 25 m.p.h. today. Some low clouds and fog were expected along the coast starting Sunday and increasing Tuesday. High temperatures should be in the 70s, forecasters said.

Thursday’s downtown Los Angeles high temperature was 74 degrees. The overnight low was 56. And it was dry, with relative humidity ranging from 23% to 13%.

With high pressure building over the Pacific Northwest and with a low-pressure system over Arizona and New Mexico, a mild Santa Ana pattern was developing to bring Southern California gusty winds out of the north and northeast through tonight.

The weather should warm a bit, offering a pleasant weekend with the high in downtown Los Angeles near 76 today and 80 on Saturday. Sunday should see some low clouds and fog along the coast with slightly cooler readings.

The mountains should have variable cloudiness and otherwise clear skies through the weekend, with highs at the resorts ranging from 44 to 54 degrees.

Stiff Winds in Mountains

The northern deserts are expected to have highs ranging from 56 to 66 today and from 56 to 66 on Saturday. The southern deserts will warm up to 78 today and as high as 83 on Saturday.

Travelers in both the mountains and deserts are being warned of stiff winds through today.

Offshore, a small craft advisory will be in effect through today for the inner waters below the canyons from Point Conception to Point Vicente because of winds of 20 to 30 knots. In the outer waters, there will be a small craft advisory for the entire Southern California coast because of similar winds and combined swells of 7 to 13 feet.

Along the shoreline, the surf is expected to be 2 to 3 feet from Zuma Beach to Mission Beach in San Diego through Saturday.