Rescuers Comb Stormy Forest Canyons for Hiker

As another storm front dumped more than 2 inches of rain in parts of Ventura County on Tuesday, searchers combed the hillsides and canyons in Los Padres National Forest looking for a 52-year-old hiker missing since Sunday.

Rain made the search for John Duke Allen of Santa Barbara difficult, forcing helicopters to suspend flights in the afternoon, but the weather did not stop more than 30 searchers on foot and horseback from spending the day looking for the missing man.

The wet weather was blamed for at least 15 accidents on the county’s highways Tuesday, California Highway Patrol Officer Steve Reid said.

The CHP responded to scores of calls, Reid said, including a small rockslide on California 150 between Ojai and Santa Paula.

There were no additional reports of slides in the county.

“Whenever it rains like this, it’s pretty busy,” he said. “We’ve had numerous calls and numerous accidents. People need to slow down.”

Tuesday night, authorities released the name of three Fillmore men who were killed on California 126, just west of Chiquito Canyon Road, the night before. The men, who died when their car collided head-on with a big-rig truck, were identified as Isidro Rangel Cardoso, 35, Arturo Enriquez, 23, and Jose Ramirez, 30.

Tuesday’s rain caused only minor local flooding, and forecasters expect the storm to lift by early today, with a possibility of showers throughout the day, said Mallory Ham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

But by 9 p.m. Tuesday, fire officials had stationed four engines and two California Department of Forestry crews in the El Rio area, where flood waters had begun to seep into garages and homes. A blocked drainage pipe in the area is believed to have caused flooding for a second day.

The Pacific storm fronts, which hit Southern California on Monday and Tuesday, dropped up to 5 inches of rain in the mountain areas of Ventura County, Ham said.

Forecasters said that although the storms did not pack the wallop of one in January 1995 that dropped more than 10 inches of rain in parts of the county, all of them had similar characteristics.

“The jet stream and weather pattern looked much the same,” Ham said.

Skies are expected to clear by Thursday, he said, but with the clearing, the temperatures are likely to fall into the upper 30s in the mountains by tonight.

“It’s going to be very chilly for anybody that’s lost out there,” Ham said.

Family members told authorities that Allen went to the Matilija Trail early Sunday for a hike he regularly liked to take.

He was apparently only wearing shorts, a T-shirt and hat, although family members told authorities that he may have packed a sweater in a fanny pack.

He is believed to have headed up a trail that leads to the Monte Arido Peak area, officials said.

Searchers found that Allen signed a climbers’ log at the top of Monte Arido, according to Senior Deputy Ed Tumbleson of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

Despite the heavy rains Monday and Tuesday, authorities believe that Allen, an experienced hiker, could easily survive the elements.

“If he was smart, he may have holed up in a cave somewhere or some other type of shelter,” said Sheriff’s Senior Deputy Tim Hagel, who helped coordinate helicopter flights over the area.

“Actually, the rain has kept temperatures up some; if he has been able to stay dry, he should be all right,” Hagel said.

Using three county helicopters, one with a heat-seeking camera, as well as searchers on horseback and about 20 on foot, officials looked along the trail that rises about 6,000 feet above the north fork of Matilija Creek.

The weather and low clouds made the search difficult for crews who could not see more than a few hundred feet, Hagel said.

Tumbleson added that visibility was cut to less than 40 feet by midafternoon.

“One of the problems for us searchers is the Matilija is one of the wettest parts of Ventura County, and we have some severe weather up there,” Hagel said.

Times correspondents Jeff McDonald and Nick Green contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures from the Ventura County Flood Control Department for the 24-hour period ending at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Oct. 1 is the beginning of the official rain year.

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Rainfall Rainfall Normal rainfall Location last 24 hours since Oct. 1 to date Camarillo 0.51 5.31 2.94 Casitas Dam 1.69 11.28 4.63 Casitas Rec. Center 1.77 10.69 4.88 Fillmore 0.63 8.63 4.22 Matilija Dam 2.28 12.86 5.03 Moorpark 0.43 6.29 3.08 Upper Ojai 2.32 11.55 4.39 Oxnard 0.47 5.37 2.79 Piru 0.63 7.07 3.29 Port Hueneme 0.51 5.13 2.85 Santa Paula 2.40 8.91 3.66 Simi Valley 0.39 5.91 2.85 Thousand Oaks 1.14 6.32 3.07 Ventura Govt. Center 0.71 6.74 3.13

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* RAINY DAY PICTURES: B2