Rain-Swollen Creek Sweeps 2-Year-Old Boy to His Death

Belying the sunny skies that lent calm to a storm-battered Southern California, tragedy struck Sunday when a 2-year-old boy was swept to his death by the rain-fed currents of a Castaic creek.

The toddler was the latest victim of the torrential downpours that have besieged the region, tearing apart houses, washing away roads and leaving residents fearful of a new winter storm expected tonight.

It was the stormy legacy of last week, however, that claimed the life of Robert Diaz Jr. The child was on an afternoon outing with his family when his father, Robert Diaz, 29, of Lawndale, took him wading in the creek, which runs through Lake Elizabeth Canyon about one mile north of Castaic Lake, authorities said.

Diaz apparently lost his balance and dropped the child, who was quickly claimed by the 20-m.p.h. current, Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Mike Carrick said.

Rescue crews, aided by helicopters, searched for the boy for nearly three hours before finding him caught between some reeds and rocks about half a mile from where he had fallen.

“It’s normally just a small creek, but right now, it’s a pretty good-sized river,” Carrick said.

Grim reminders of last week’s storms occupied the thoughts of many people throughout the region Sunday.

County crews worked feverishly to repair roads. Emergency personnel debated the best locations for disaster relief centers. And some homeowners in north Los Angeles County emerged from their houses for the first time in days, shaken to discover the destruction in their neighborhoods.

“It’s like a war zone,” said Eunice Fischer, 61, who lives on Sierra Highway in Canyon Country. “It looks like we were bombed.”

Neighbors were digging out cars that had been buried in the mud. Trees and rubbish were strewn over the streets. Parts of friends’ houses were simply gone.

Fischer--who now must ford a three-foot-deep river to leave her house--cried as she recounted the storm damage, including the broken water main and leaks in the roof of her two-bedroom, ranch-style house.

Hers is a common story among homeowners along Sierra Highway. Riverbeds along the road became roaring rapids as rain pelted the area Friday, washing away a bridge and several sections of the major artery for the rural area.

Indeed, the county’s Office of Emergency Management reported that 70 houses along Sierra Highway between Palmdale and Santa Clarita sustained damage.

Monetary losses have not been calculated, and damages could range from roof leaks to houses falling down, said Bob Garrott, assistant manager of the Office of Emergency Management.

Other areas of the county have reported minimal damage, Garrott said. Three homes were damaged in Agoura Hills, five in Culver City and six in Montebello.

Building inspectors are expected to canvass the areas today to determine whether structures are fit to live in, Garrott said.

State and federal agencies are also looking for places to set up disaster centers where residents may apply for help for storm-related damage, he said.

Meanwhile, officials continued releasing water Sunday from 13 of 14 county dams so the reservoirs would be able to accept more rain this week, Garrott said.

A cold front is expected to pass through the Los Angeles area tonight, bringing six hours of light to moderate rainfall, said Dean Jones, meteorologist with WeatherData Inc. There is also the chance of rain and thundershowers Tuesday, Jones said.

“By Wednesday, things are going to start looking a little better for Southern California, at least for a couple of days,” he said.

But on Sunday, most people could think only of the storms of last week.

Crews managed to reopen one lane of four-lane Sierra Highway, said Jean Granucci, spokeswoman for the county Department of Public Works. The bridge that was washed out one mile south of Davenport Road was also temporarily repaired, she said.

The roadway remained guarded at several points by California Highway Patrol officers, who allowed only emergency vehicles and residents of the area to pass, Granucci said. It is not expected to be open to the public until it is completely repaired, a project expected to take about three weeks, she added.

A stretch of the southbound Antelope Valley Freeway where it connects with the Golden State Freeway remained closed by a mudslide, as did a portion of Vasquez Canyon Road in Vasquez Canyon, the CHP said.

Some repair efforts over the weekend became hazardous.

While dumping a load of boulders to bolster San Francisquito Road five miles north of Seco Canyon Road, a county maintenance truck and trailer fell into the wash, Sheriff’s Lt. John Vander Horck said. Driver Robert Reeves, 44, was not injured in the accident, which occurred at 8:55 p.m. Saturday, Vander Horck said.

Early Sunday, a tractor-trailer traveling north on the Golden State Freeway two miles north of Lake Hughes skidded on the rain-slicked roadway, CHP Sgt. Les Fritz said.

“It was too wet, too fast and too much for the driver too handle,” Fritz said. The driver was not injured, Fritz said.

Residents also battled the aftereffects of the storm.

Eunice Fischer was forced to ford the river where a road once crossed in front of her house, holding tightly to a rope that her husband, Mike Juceam, had tied to telephone poles on both sides of the road.

“We’re short,” she said emphatically. “For me, the water comes up past my knee. It’s dangerous.”

Fischer said she could not help but relive the horror of last week. For 16 hours, she said, she was without electricity. Her main phone line is out. And she still has no water. She is already anxious about the upcoming storm.

“We’re very worried,” she said, crying over the telephone. “It’s just really terrible. I try to be brave.”

For John Muskavitch, a 32-year-old Canyon Country resident whose house foundation cracked and water pipe and gas line snapped during the rains, there was no longer a need to worry about upcoming storms. He is staying with friends, waiting to apply for disaster relief.

“People were offering to come help sandbag,” Muskavitch said with a sigh Sunday. “But it’s too late.”