Countywide : Dead Carp, Wet Grads Left in Storm’s Wake

The unseasonable storm that persisted through Friday finally is expected to end today, leaving behind several minor car wrecks, some wet high school graduations and dozens of dead carp.

The 60 or so dead fish that washed up at the Bolsa Chica wetlands were freshwater carp that had been flushed down a flood-control channel by the rain and encountered seawater.

“They’re essentially smothering,” said Jim Robins of the Bolsa Chica Conservancy.

The same problem occurred last year, resulting in hundreds of dead fish, he said.

“It occurs every time there’s a major rain runoff through the channel,” Robins said.

But Solange Stramler, who noticed the dead fish while strolling along a channel near the wetlands, said, “I’ve been here seven years and I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The abrupt storm was expected to be reduced to a drizzle by this morning, clearing the way for a dry weekend, forecasters said.

“It’s been very unusual to have such a strong and cool storm system this time of year,” said meteorologist Curtis Brack of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times. Half an inch of rain fell throughout the county; temperatures ranged from the low to mid-60s. The weather was the continuation of an overall soggy year so far. Santa Ana, which has had more than 24 inches of rain in 1995, came within one-tenth of an inch Friday of doubling its normal rainfall for the year.

“It’s really wacky,” Brack said. “I think that’s a good indication of how things are going throughout the state. It’s been a very wet year.”

The wet weather put a damper on several graduations scheduled for Friday. At Willard Intermediate School in Santa Ana, students tucked their diplomas under their gowns to keep them dry, as some in the audience began to yell “Faster! It’s raining!” to administrators conducting the ceremony.

But the graduates seemed undaunted.

“I had to wait longer because my name starts with a T, but I liked sitting in the rain,” said 13-year-old Omar Tajonar. “You can’t redo graduation because of the rain. This makes it more memorable.”