Spring Storm Causes Only a Few Problems

The first spring storm to hit the Southland, dropping less than half an inch of rain in most of Orange County, was enough to dampen the spirits of hundreds of youngsters ready for the annual Easter Fair at Garden Grove Park in Garden Grove.

The fair had to rescheduled to a new date, which will be announced later, City Manager George Tindall said.

The rain also caused a few minor accidents in the county, but nothing as serious as most police agencies had expected.

“Usually a rain like this, we’ll have about a dozen fender benders,” said Placentia police spokesman David Taylor.

“Today we didn’t have a single one. Very unusual, but we were happy.”

Varies Around County

The rain was twice as heavy in parts of south Orange County than in the north and central sections.

At 7 p.m., San Juan Capistrano had received 0.82 of an inch of rain, the National Weather Service reported, in comparison to less than half an inch in most of the county.

“It was funny weather,” said one San Clemente police spokesman. “I left home in Laguna Hills where there wasn’t a drop. Then I drive to work and hit a hell of a rain.”

The rainy weather brought cooler-than-average temperatures to the county, with the high in Santa Ana at 64 degrees and the high along the coast at 60. Winds in Newport Beach were reported Saturday evening at 15 m.p.h., and the evening temperatures along the coast dropped to the low 50s.

In other incidents, the weather was blamed for a mudslide at 9:30 a.m. Saturday in Los Angeles County that temporarily blocked one lane of the Long Beach Freeway near Lakewood. It also caused a downed power line that left 1,600 people on Los Angeles’ Koreatown area and 800 in Encino without electricity for part of the day.