Storm Snarls Traffic, Soaks the Southland

A cold, blustery storm hammered Southern California with as much as 6.5 inches of rain early Wednesday, snarling freeway and canyon traffic and forcing apartment residents to flee for cover after a makeshift roof collapsed.

The morning commute was a nightmare for motorists as more than 170 accidents--about three times the normal amount--slowed freeways and surface streets to a crawl throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. A storm-damaged bridge over the Los Angeles River forced the closure of Coldwater Canyon Avenue north of Ventura Boulevard in Studio City.

About 24,000 customers suffered storm-related power outages in the San Fernando Valley, but in most cases, electrical service was restored within a few hours. Powerful winds blew through the streets of Norwalk, shattering windows, toppling a sign and tearing up some roofing, but damage generally was minor and no injuries were reported.

The first significant storm of the season dropped more than 2 inches of rain on hillsides in Malibu stripped bare in last week’s destructive wildfires, but erosion was minimal and the only serious rockslide was reported on Malibu Canyon Road just north of the tunnel. The California Highway Patrol closed the road to clear away the debris.

Rick Morgan, Malibu city engineer, fretted that another storm could send rocks tumbling down the hillside.

“If you drive that canyon you can see with all that brush gone,” Morgan said. “Loose boulders are poised everywhere.”

While the rain caused some concern, many residents welcomed the sudden shift in climate.

“I’m glad the rains are here,” said 46-year-old Roxane Seidner, as she watched the drizzle descend in front of her Latigo Canyon home. “It will start the rebirth process. The fires, the rain--they’re part of the natural cycle. If if lets up for a week, it will give the grass a chance to grow and give the critters something to nibble on again.”

In Boyle Heights, between 75 to 100 residents of the Pico-Aliso public housing project were evacuated from their apartments early Wednesday when a tarpaulin collapsed and rainwater seeped into 12 of the units, flooding downstairs living quarters and leaving some units ankle-deep in water.

Officials with the Los Angeles city Housing Authority said the units were in a building at 1401 E. 1st St. that was undergoing roof repairs. Workers, aware of the approaching storm, covered the repairs with a heavy tarp, but the weight of the accumulating precipitation proved to be too much.

“The tarp just gave way,” said Don Smith, the Housing Authority’s executive director who ordered the evacuation.

Twelve of the building’s 24 units were damaged, but as a precaution, all of the 50-year-old building’s residents were evacuated. Officials estimated the damage at between $20,000 and $40,000. No injuries were reported.

The heaviest rain from the storm was reported at Gilbraltar Dam, in a mountain canyon near Santa Barbara, where more than 6.5 inches had accumulated by noon on Wednesday. Other storm totals as of Wednesday afternoon included 5.94 inches at White Ledge Peak in Ventura County, 2.64 in Malibu, 1.38 in Monrovia, 1.37 in Woodland Hills, 1.22 in Fullerton and 1.06 in downtown Los Angeles. The rainfall at the Los Angeles Civic Center broke the record for the date--0.48 of an inch in 1992--and the downtown high temperature of 60 was the coldest maximum reading ever recorded for the date.

The storm had largely moved out of the Southland by nightfall Wednesday and forecasters said skies should be mostly clear today and Friday, with high temperatures in the upper 60s. But there is a chance of showers again this weekend, forecasters said.

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Times staff writer Eric Malnic contributed to this story.