Basin Area Floods, but Gate Closure Works Well

The first test of storm emergency measures designed to prevent a repeat of the near-disaster in February, when rising floodwaters stranded nearly 50 motorists in the Sepulveda Basin, went according to plan Monday as rain drenched the San Fernando Valley.

Los Angeles police sealed off roads leading into the basin at about 3:30 a.m. Monday--about 30 minutes before the intersection of Burbank Boulevard and Woodley Avenue was submerged by four feet of water backing up behind Sepulveda Dam.

“Things went very well this morning,” said Jim Myrtetus, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers. “There were no injuries and no accidents.”

The corps operates the dam, which holds back the upper waters of the Los Angeles River as it rises, fed by a network of concrete flood control channels. The backed-up waters temporarily flood a basin that includes several city streets.

There were, however, traffic jams aplenty. With the closure of Burbank Boulevard between Balboa Boulevard and Hayvenhurst Avenue, morning commuters swarmed onto the Ventura Freeway and nearby streets, slowing traffic to a crawl.

“It was very slow--a lot of fender-benders,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Jayne Bartholme.

With most of the storm’s fury spent by late afternoon, street maintenance superintendent Dennis Harding said he hoped to have roads through the basin cleaned up and reopened by this afternoon. Throughout Monday, waters receded and then rose again with each new cloudburst.

Sealing off the basin is part of an emergency storm plan adopted by the Los Angeles City Council in September in response to February’s heavy rains. During that storm, floodwaters rose swiftly over the streets in the basin and trapped 48 motorists, many of whom had to be plucked from car tops by helicopters.

In the days and weeks that followed, city officials blamed a lack of preparation and coordination by police, city streets officials and the corps. The agencies then began developing a procedure to close the basin whenever water reached a threatening level.

On Monday, Myrtetus said, the corps called police about 3 a.m. to report that water was rising faster than it could be released safely into the Los Angeles River. Officers then closed the long metal gates at each end of Burbank Boulevard within the basin.

Wade said it did not appear that any cars were in the basin at the time of the closure. He added that in the future, cars parked there during a storm probably would not be towed out before the roads were closed. He said there probably would not be time to get a tow truck to the area.

Although the closure of the basin was the most visible response to the storm, six Los Angeles County lifeguards also were dispatched to a city fire station on Sepulveda Boulevard to execute swift-water rescues. This was recommended after a 15-year-old Woodland Hills boy was swept to his death in the churning waters of the river in February while police and others tried futilely to rescue him, hampered by a lack of equipment and training.

For the most part, Monday’s storm spared the Valley. Police, CHP and Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies reported dozens of minor accidents and sluggish traffic across northern Los Angeles County, but no major damage or injuries.

Forecasters said snow was expected above 3,500 feet and snow flurries were reported along the Antelope Valley Freeway near Palmdale. Another storm is expected later this week.

STORM FLOODS HOMES, CLOGS TRAFFIC; 2 DEAD: A1