From Sky and on Ground, Storm Wages War on Roads, Houses : Rain: A store roof collapses, streets are closed and the elements share blame for a $100,000 structure fire.

The rain wreaked havoc throughout the San Fernando Valley over the past two days, from a toppled tree on Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Woodland Hills to a collapsed Pic ‘N’ Save roof in Granada Hills, to mudslides that closed portions of some roads.

No serious injuries were reported.

The roof of the Pic ‘N’ Save store gave way under accumulated rain, sending employees scrambling for cover from water that gushed in through a 20-by-20-foot hole, District Manager Todd Breske said.

“It looks like Saddam Hussein launched a Scud missile,” Breske quipped as repairs began.

No one was injured in the incident, which occurred about 10 p.m. Wednesday, an hour after closing time. Breske said the discount store would remain closed until repairs and cleanup are completed. Most of the work involves clothing that got wet and flooding inside the store.

At Pierce College, where the building-maintenance program has already suffered under the state budget crunch, roofs leaked in a dean’s office, the women’s gym, the admissions office and the special services department, which serves about 500 disabled students, said officials at the Woodland Hills campus.

Health and gymnastics classes were canceled at the gym, where an estimated 20 ceiling tilings fell under the weight of water. There were deep puddles of water on the basketball court.

The college’s special services director, Norman Crozer, said that trash cans and buckets collecting water at the office’s entrance were making it difficult for students using wheelchairs, canes or crutches to enter. In the admissions and records office, staff assistant Madeline Lublin said employees used torn plastic garbage bags to cover computers and filing cabinets.

In Topanga Canyon, the rain indirectly caused a small, two-story house to burn.

Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Leonard Miller said rain dislodged a boulder that tumbled down a hill, crashing into the side of a residence on North Creek Trail. The boulder landed against a water heater cabinet, which caught fire about 12:30 a.m. Thursday, he said.

The occupant was not injured, but the fire caused an estimated $100,000 in damage, Miller said.

Friday morning, rush-hour traffic had to be diverted from Topanga Canyon Boulevard near Ybarra Street so that a large pepper tree could be chopped up and carted away, Los Angeles police said.

The tree fell during the night, blocking the street, Detective Ronald Weimer said. A 29-year-old motorist, his view apparently hindered by the rain and darkness, drove into the fallen tree about 3:30 a.m., and suffered minor injuries.

The fast lane of the eastbound Ventura Freeway between Balboa Boulevard and the San Diego Freeway was closed byflooding Thursday and Friday morning, the California Highway Patrol reported. Portions of Foothill Boulevard in the northeast Valley--at Balboa Boulevard and Wheatland Avenue--were temporarily blocked by mudslides.

Campus correspondent Dan Dow contributed to this story.