Rain Causes Car Accidents; New Storm Due Thursday

A fast-moving Pacific storm swept into Orange County on Tuesday night, making roads and freeways slick with rain and causing a spate of commuter accidents.

“We have numerous (traffic collisions) because of the rain,” said a harried dispatcher for the California Highway Patrol shortly after it began raining about 5:30 p.m.

Heavy rain was reported in North County, contributing to a two-vehicle collision at 5:42 p.m. on Santiago Canyon Road in Orange that left one person seriously injured and traffic tied up for miles in both directions.

Orange Police Sgt. Paul Gibbs said a car collided with a van on Santiago Canyon Road at Jamboree Road, causing the car to burst into flames. An occupant in the car was rushed by Lifeflight helicopter to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

The identity of the victim, who was listed in serious condition, was not released pending notification of relatives. The two occupants in the van were not injured. The CHP issued a SigAlert, as police worked to clear the wreckage.

Skies should become partly cloudy by this afternoon, but temperatures will remain cool, as another storm is expected to arrive in Southern California on Thursday, said meteorologist Rick Dittmann of WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times.

Highs both days will be in the low to middle 60s, with overnight lows in the upper 40s and 50s.

The two storms, however, are not expected to produce enough rain to ease the county’s drought. Since July 1, just 3.96 inches of rain have fallen in Santa Ana, well below the normal for this time of year of 5.55 inches. Last year at this time, 5.60 inches of rain had fallen in Santa Ana.

The story is the same elsewhere in the county, with rainfall totals running well below normal for this time of year. In Costa Mesa, 3.08 inches of rain have been recorded so far this year, compared to an average of 5.08 inches. On Saddleback’s Santiago Peak, 8.91 inches of rain have fallen this year, while the average is 12.93 inches.