2 Women, Baby Narrowly Flee Muddy Cascade

Holding a screaming 18-month-old baby above their heads, a mother and daughter narrowly escaped death early Thursday as a torrent of cold, black water roared into their home in the dead of night and almost trapped everyone inside.

“I just kept thinking to myself, ‘One more step, just one more step and we will make it,’ ” said Katherine Bayne, who spent a harrowing morning trying to save her family. “I really feared for our lives, the water was rising so fast.”

Bayne, 62, her daughter, Marcia Marx, 35, and Marx’s son, C.J., managed to get out of their home at 703 Browncroft Road moments before a cascade of mud and water filled their rented house almost to the ceiling. Although about 25 homes in the neighborhood were hit by the flooding, Bayne’s home sustained the most damage.

The torrent that hit their house shortly after 4 a.m. began in a steep canyon off Park Avenue about 100 yards up the hill from the intersection of Park and Wendt Terrace. It descended with a deafening roar on Wendt Terrace, Wilcox Drive, Griffith Way, Browncroft Road and St. Ann’s Drive. At most of the dwellings, landscaping was ruined and exteriors were marred by watermarks and mud stains.

Bayne, who escaped with only her nightgown, said their brush with death started when heavy rain awakened her daughter, who recalled that she looked outside and saw a geyser of water shooting out of a drainpipe.

She did not become alarmed, she said, until she noticed that water was seeping rapidly into their house, which is built in a low spot at Browncroft and St. Ann’s, where the floodwaters pooled.

Marx quickly woke up her mother and her baby. By then, however, the water was already waist-deep in the house, making it hard to move around. The rushing water was so loud they had to shout at each other. They dialed 911. The line was dead. Alone in the darkness, everything was now up to them.

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Handing C.J. back and forth above the swirling water, Bayne and Marx waded into the kitchen, where they thought there would be an easy way out through a window or door. But the force of the water had knocked over the refrigerator, blocking the way.

With the water now reaching their necks, they made their way to the living room and the front door. While her mother held on to C.J., Marx said she forced open the front door. But they were not in the clear--the screen door was jammed shut.

“I was not sure what we were going to do then,” Bayne said. “Then I saw a 2-by-4 float by. I couldn’t believe it. It just came from out of the blue. I grabbed it and used it to tear open the screen door.”

From there, Bayne and Marx, still holding C.J. over their heads, crossed about 20 feet of flooded yard to reach the steps leading up to St. Ann’s. They emerged from the property covered with ash-laden mud. C.J. was screaming and struggling. Helping them over the last leg of their escape were the next-door neighbors, Shannon Kelterborn and her mother, Sherry.

“I really thought the water would recede. I really did,” Marx said Thursday morning, trying to hold back her tears. “I never thought it would come up to our necks. It was rising so fast, I kept looking down in disbelief.”

As the water receded and county crews worked with a tractor to clear the debris, the damage to the family’s home was apparent. The yard was under several feet of mud, and the interior of the house was filled with debris.

Mud-encrusted furniture was overturned and strewn everywhere. A concrete block wall on the property had been pushed over by the force of the flood. Inside the house, the floor was a thick pad of mud, and a black smear indicated that the water had reached a height of five to six feet.

“I have been through fire and now a flood,” Bayne said as she surveyed the scene. “I’ve been in Laguna 14 years. I am not going to leave. I hope we can find another place.”

“Hey, look at this!” Marx exclaimed while rummaging through the debris. “My favorite bowl is here.” Except for a layer of mud on the base, the piece of gray, floral pottery was intact and still filled with yellow squash.

Next door at the Kelterborn house on St. Ann’s, neighbors hosed off Bayne’s furniture and C.J.’s crib. Other people came by, offering clothes or a place to stay. The Red Cross has offered them accommodations in a Laguna hotel. Even Laguna Beach Mayor Lida Lenney dropped by to offer her personal intervention if the family needed help.

“This city is amazing. These are our neighbors and they’re all pitching in,” said Marx, who was wearing a purple knit outfit and sandals given to her by a neighbor.