RIDING THE RAILS: Many commuters from the...

RIDING THE RAILS: Many commuters from the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys appear to have abandoned their cars for a Metrolink train. Before the Jan. 17 earthquake, daily ridership on the Santa Clarita line was less than 1,000. When Metrolink extended service to the Antelope Valley after the quake, ridership shot up to a peak of almost 22,000 on Jan. 25. Train ridership has leveled off to about 7,000 daily (above), but still, the increase over pre-quake days is dramatic.

THE LONE DEPUTY: For five winters, Bennie Garnes has been Los Angeles County’s most isolated deputy sheriff. From Thanksgiving to Easter, he becomes a mountain man, patrolling by himself 300 square miles of high country in and around Wrightwood.(B1) . . . Garnes has played a key role in rescuing numerous hikers and skiers lost in the frozen wilderness.

QUAKE SURVIVOR: Salvador Pena, the janitor who was trapped under two floors of a shopping mall garage after the Northridge earthquake, doesn’t speak must English. . . . But what he does know was enough for the firefighters, who labored for seven hours to free him. “Thank you very much, my friend,” he told each of them Saturday. (B1)

EDWARDS’ PAST: It’s about seven years late and a tiny fraction of its original design. But, finally, in late April, Edwards Air Force Base will have a museum. (B20) . . . You’ll be able to check out the history of the base, watch videos and gaze at models of the 100 or so airplanes that made their maiden flight there, including the first American jet in 1942.

BUBBLE BURSTS: Crescenta Valley High’s unlikely run through the Southern Section boys’ basketball playoffs ended at the hands of Long Beach Poly, which made 12 of 14 shots in the third quarter en route to a 71-60 victory in the Division I-AA final at the Anaheim Arena (C1).

Metrolink Ridership

Number of riders before and after the Jan. 17 earthquake on the Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley line. Jan. 14: 845 Jan. 19: 6,357 Jan. 26: 20,833 Feb. 2: 10,226 Feb. 9: 7,673 Feb. 16: 7,530 Note: On Jan. 24, the Santa Clarita line was extended to Antelope Valley; on Feb. 9, a third round-trip train was added.

Source: Metrolink