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Heavy Storm Leaves Little Damage in Its Wake : Weather: Sunny skies are in forecast for county, which was spared devastating rain that fell elsewhere.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

To the relief of most residents in Orange County, the heavy Pacific Ocean storm that passed through last week left little lasting damage, although a few roads were closed.

No rain is forecast and sunny conditions are expected to last throughout the week.

Among the streets sidelined by the storm was El Toro Road, which was shut after a section of the road in Mission Viejo collapsed from the heavy rains and runoff.

However, the section of El Toro Road was reopened at 6:30 p.m. Sunday to through traffic.

In San Juan Capistrano, Ortega Highway, about two miles east of Interstate 5, also is closed, and it is not likely to reopen until later this week, said Pam Gorniak, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation.

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The highway has been closed since Tuesday, in part due to flooding that damaged a bridge.

Caltrans was able to reopen Laguna Canyon Road, between El Toro Road and the San Diego Freeway, Gorniak said.

Bill Reiter, the county public works manager, said county workers also were able to repair a bridge railing and reopen Trabuco Creek Road at Trabuco Canyon.

“Everything’s in pretty good shape,” he said. “We still have work to do (today), but there’s nothing of an emergency nature going on.”

By Sunday, power was restored to about 13,000 county residents who lost electricity during at least part of the storm, said Steven Jay, a spokesman for Southern California Edison.

Over the weekend, nearly three inches of rain fell in Santa Ana, according to Curtis Brack, meteorologist with WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times.

But most of the severe damage occurred in areas further north, where the rains and wind hit harder.

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The storm that pounded the region over the weekend is heading inland, toward the Rocky Mountains, Brack said.

“The forecast says no more rain in Southern California,” Brack said.

“We’re looking for the weather to remain partly cloudy to mostly sunny for the rest of the week.”

Highs are expected to reach the low 70s today in the county, with lows in the 50s.

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