Rain Brings Misery, Not Drought Relief : Storm: One man is killed and eight people hurt in traffic accidents related to weather. ‘We just brace ourselves,’ CHP says.

Bringing more tragedy than relief, a fast-moving Pacific storm triggered a rash of auto accidents across Orange County on Wednesday that left one man dead and at least eight people injured.

Almost half an inch of rain fell in the county’s second storm this year, but the amount was below the seasonal norm and is not expected to provide much help in the state’s 5-year-old drought.

The showers, at times heavy, mostly played havoc with the county’s streets and highways, causing slick roads, poor visibility and traffic jams from morning to evening.

“Whenever it rains we just brace ourselves,” said Officer Liza Waggoner, a spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol. “There are, of course, far more accidents than any average day, and the caseload for the department just overflows.”

The storm developed off the coast during the early morning hours and quickly moved southeast into Southern California, said Marty McKewon, a meteorologist for WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

A countywide average of 0.48 inches of rain fell in Orange County as of Wednesday evening. The high Wednesday was 59 degrees at the Santa Ana Civic Center. The low was 53. The forecast for today calls for partly cloudy skies and fog during the early morning hours. Sunny skies are predicted for the afternoon, with temperatures in the low to middle 60s.

Significant snowfall was reported above the 5,000-foot level. Mount Wilson in the San Gabriel Mountains had a 1-inch blanket of fresh snow by late afternoon, while Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains received 2 to 4 inches.

Shortly after the rain began, Francisco Ochoa Duran, 23, of Laguna Niguel was killed and three others injured in a traffic accident on Santa Margarita Parkway, just north of Alicia Parkway.

According to the CHP, a late-model Honda Civic in which Duran was riding went out of control on the slick road about 10:30 a.m. and slid into oncoming traffic, where it was hit by a Toyota pickup truck. The impact drove the rear tire of the Honda into the back seat, crushing Duran.

The three others, including the truck driver, were listed in satisfactory condition Wednesday night at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo with injuries including face cuts, a bruised kidney and a broken spine.

In the early afternoon, a 17-year-old Costa Mesa girl was hurt at Placentia Avenue and Joann Street when she lost control of her Volkswagen squareback and slid into a utility pole at about 40 m.p.h., police said. She was listed in critical condition at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

The CHP also reported two other accidents with four people injured and scores of minor traffic accidents during the morning and evening commute hours.

The CHP dispatched extra officers to all Orange County freeways to handle the increase in calls.

Although it rained hard at times, meteorologists said the county’s total for the year of 1.31 inches is well below its average seasonal rainfall. Local rainfall for the same time last year was 1.91 inches.

“Today’s shower helped a great deal and might have been a decent amount but not enough to match the previous year,” said McKewon of WeatherData.

Officials in cities such as San Clemente, whose well-publicized water shortage resulted in conservation curbs, stressed that the second storm of the year would not have much impact on the drought.

“If it rained 40 days and 40 nights, we’d still need more water,” said Greg Morehead, utilities manager for San Clemente. “If anything, the rainfall works against us, because it gives residents the false idea that there is surplus water available. . . . That is just not the case.”

The county agricultural community was also less than optimistic about the wet weather.

“These light showers aren’t going to solve any of our drought problems,” said John Ellis, a deputy agricultural commissioner for Orange County. “We are talking four years of damage to crops, and we are still behind for rain during this period.”

Times staff writer Dan Weikel contributed to this report.

ORANGE COUNTY RAINFALL FUGURES

Seasonal rainfall to date has been has been 1.31 inches while normal seasonal rainfall is 4.56 inches. A total of 1.91 inches fell by this time last year. Below are a few random Orange County cities and their rainfall measured Wednesday.

Yorba Linda: .63”

Villa Park: .59”

Fullerton: .47”

Anaheim: .39”

Mission Viejo: .35”

San Juan Capistrano: .24”