Storm Blamed in Fatal Crash : Weather: Oxnard High senior is killed in the accident. More rain is expected and officials still warn of possible mudslides in burn areas.

A wind-driven storm from the Gulf of Alaska that brought heavy rain to Ventura County on Thursday and contributed to a fatal car accident in Oxnard was expected to drop more rain today, with flash floods still possible in areas scarred by last year’s wildfires, forecasters said.

Several car accidents occurred across the county during a wave of heavy downpours Thursday afternoon, including the fatal wreck in Oxnard that left a 17-year-old high school student dead and his classmate in serious condition at a local hospital, authorities said.

Eric Duff, a senior at Oxnard High School, was killed when he lost control of his car in the pouring rain and skidded into a traffic signal post on Ventura Road, authorities said. His passenger, 15-year-old Jeffrey Wedemeyer, was in stable condition, said a spokeswoman at St. John’s Regional Medical Center.

Duff was driving 60 m.p.h. in a 45 m.p.h. zone when his 1988 Volvo spun out of control, Oxnard fire officials said.

In Ventura, about 90 people sought refuge from the rain at an emergency warming shelter run by the American Red Cross, officials there said.

The California Highway Patrol reported several road closures because of weather conditions. Potrero Road from Camarillo State Hospital to the Thousand Oaks city limits was closed because of rock slides, a mudslide shut down Santa Clara Avenue between Central Avenue and Friedich Road just north of Oxnard, and snow and ice closed a portion of California 33 near Wheeler campground, the California Highway Patrol said.

Forecasters predicted fast-moving, intermittent showers for parts of the county today as the powerful storm moves inland, with rain tapering off late tonight or early Saturday. Temperatures were expected to hover in the mid-50s and lower 60s during the day, dropping into the upper 40s tonight.

The storm was expected to drop one to two inches in coastal areas and up to four inches in the mountains before clearing out this weekend.

“This is certainly the best chance of getting some heavy rain this season,” said Harry Woolford, a meteorologist with Weather Data Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

Scattered showers began around noon Thursday, growing heavier in the early evening as the sky darkened. Snow began falling on Frazier Mountain in the afternoon, and flakes were expected to dust local mountains at elevations as low as 3,000 feet.

Off the Ventura County coast, powerful winds prompted authorities to issue a gale warning for outer waters beyond the Channel Islands and a small craft advisory for areas closer to shore.

“It would not be a good idea to go out in your dinghy,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Nick Leivers.

The biggest danger posed by the storm was for flash floods and mudslides in fire-scarred areas near Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park and along Pacific Coast Highway, authorities said.

Emergency officials issued a series of warnings about possible flooding, though only minor flood problems had been reported by late Thursday.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for five major burn areas in Southern California, including the Greenmeadow fire. The warning was downgraded late Thursday, but a flash-flood watch remained in effect.

“This storm would definitely have the potential (for a flash flood),” Leivers said.

County fire officials issued a low-level alert early Thursday requiring firefighters at all stations to inspect their equipment and to be prepared to answer flooding calls.

“It’s just a readiness call, to be prepared for higher levels of activity,” said county fire spokeswoman Sandi Wells.

At four county fire stations, firefighters were prepared to offer sandbags to residents living in areas left bare by the Greenmeadow fire. Homeowners can receive up to 50 sandbags each, though only one person had picked up sandbags at the Thousand Oaks station by late Thursday.

Fire officials said they believed most residents were already prepared from previous storms.

Officials with the Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services said they had begun no formal disaster preparations, but were giving weather updates to the county fire department and a disaster coordinator in the city of Thousand Oaks.

And Sheriff Larry Carpenter issued a statement urging parents to keep their children away from flood channels, streams and rivers, which could quickly swell with runoff.

The sheriff’s search-and-rescue teams were placed on standby and helicopters were equipped to rescue flood victims. Two flight crews would be working through the weekend at the sheriff’s heliport in Camarillo until the storm passed, said crew chief Ron Stufflebeam.

In the fatal car accident in Oxnard, Duff was pronounced dead as firefighters tried to extricate him from the mangled car. Rescue crews worked through pounding rain to remove Wedemeyer from the vehicle.

The car “spun out sideways and slammed hard into the post,” said Oxnard Fire Captain Robert Bradley. “When we got on scene (Duff) had a very faint pulse, but he couldn’t hang on.”

At an open house at Oxnard High School Thursday night, administrators announced Duff’s death and asked for a moment of silence during a gathering in the gymnasium. The program was later cut short as shocked students and school staff headed home early.

Students and teachers said Duff was a varsity football player and a member of the track team. Duff’s mother is the principal at Sierra Linda School in Oxnard.

“He was a very responsible kid. He was very well-liked,” said social studies teacher Chuck Cordes.

With the predictions of more wet weather today, agricultural officials were hoping the storm would help the county make up for a low amount of rain so far this year.

Before the storm, the county had received only 68% of the normal rainfall for this point in the rainy season, which runs from October to the end of April, said John Weikel, senior engineer with the county Flood Control District.

“Usually storms this late in the season don’t affect us a whole lot because they’re normally followed by warm weather. But this storm is supposed to be exceptionally cold. That could be harmful to our celery and strawberry crops,” said Earl McPhail, Ventura County agriculture commissioner.

“The rain helps most of the other crops, but for the short terms we have to worry about disease and decay problems with celery and strawberries,” he said.

Times correspondents Matthew Mosk and Maia Davis contributed to this story.

County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures from the Ventura County Flood Control District for the 24-hour period ending 9 p.m. Thursday. Oct. 1 is the beginning of the official rain year.

Rainfall Rainfall Normal rainfall Location last 24 hours since Oct. 1 to date Camarillo 1.02 9.63 11.40 Casitas Dam 1.02 14.67 19.88 El Rio 0.87 10.35 12.92 Fillmore 1.02 10.88 16.19 Moorpark 0.75 9.50 12.42 Ojai 0.24 10.75 18.08 Upper Ojai 0.79 13.31 19.69 Oxnard 0.91 9.75 12.37 Piru 0.71 8.96 14.54 Santa Paula 0.98 12.16 15.18 Simi Valley 0.79 8.70 12.13 Thousand Oaks 0.79 8.05 12.97 Ventura Govt. Center 1.02 10.50 13.78