Flood Control Crews Scramble as New Storms Approach

Racing against the clouds, crews took advantage of mostly sunny skies Saturday to shore up creeks, strengthen stream banks and dig ditches in an effort to stop flooding and mudslides before two forecast storm systems arrived.

Saturday’s precipitation began about 4:30 p.m., and meteorologists expected six to 10 hours of moderate rainfall lasting through this morning, with partly sunny skies predicted for this afternoon.

But weather experts are warning of a second, stronger and colder storm front--which might also bring lightning--beginning late today and lasting through Tuesday morning.

The Saturday night storm “isn’t going to be as strong as we’ve had,” said Dedric Walker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “But the second could generate a lot of rainfall.”

Meteorologists predicted 1 to 2 inches of rain would fall along the coast during the two storms, with up to 3 inches inland.

Mori Seyedan of the county’s flood control department said crews have been working steadily to restore banks washed away in recent weeks.

Seyedan did not expect the new storms to destroy that work, but in general, he said, “We’ve been worried for the last month.”

Flood control crews Saturday were dispatched to a handful of emergency repair sites around Ventura County, including the Sespe Creek in Fillmore, the Arroyo Simi off Hitch Boulevard and Calleguas Creek downstream of the Ventura Freeway in Camarillo.

In Fillmore, bulldozers dropped 80 tons of boulders along the edges of the Sespe Creek to force the rushing water toward the center of the channel.

“We’re beefing up [the bank],” said Hugh Clabaugh, a senior engineer with the county flood control department. Without the extra support, Clabaugh said, high waters could rise over the embankment and take out the pile of riprap serving as a levee.

But changing the flow of the creek, even if intended to save the area from flooding, upset nearby resident Laura Harbert, manager of the May Easton Ranch off Old Telegraph Road.

“Any time you go into the river to change things, it’s bad,” she said, while speaking into a hand-held video camera to document the bulldozers at work. “They’re making this channel flow along my property. What’s it doing to do? I don’t know.”

Harbert said she wishes county workers would be more proactive in maintaining the creek, cleaning it regularly and making sure it stays at lower levels throughout the year.

Clabaugh, however, said Harbert has nothing to worry about. “We’re not changing the course of the flow,” he said. “We’re just pushing the water toward the center.”

In Camarillo, flood control workers shored up dirt banks with large rocks and removed nearly two dozen precariously balanced eucalyptus trees from the edge of Calleguas Creek.

In Simi Valley, crews worked to strengthen the Arroyo Simi flood channel.

“Each problem is a bit different that we’re working on today,” Clabaugh said. “But they all have to do with bank erosion.”

Apartment dwellers off The Avenue in Ventura had their own ongoing ground-related problems to deal with Saturday.

Yolanda Sanchez, 26, was gathering essentials for her 8-month-old baby, Bianca, before heading to a motel for the next few days. Her Cedar Street apartment was red-tagged Thursday night after city officials declared the units unsafe because of a sodden hill behind the complex.

Crews spent Saturday digging drainage ditches at the base of the hill to catch any runoff if the muddy hill above it were to slide.

“It’s pretty scary,” Sanchez said, adding that the Red Cross was supplying her with food and lodging vouchers. “But the manager said we could probably move back Monday or Tuesday.”

Elsewhere in Ventura, city officials continued to keep watch on an earthen dam in Hall Canyon.

The dam was created more than a week ago by a large landslide, which blocked the east fork of Hall Canyon barranca and created a large lake. Officials had been concerned the dam might collapse, unleashing a wall of water down the barranca that would flood much of midtown Ventura.

But crews were able to carve a channel in the dam and release much of the backed-up lake.

“We’re keeping close tabs on it, but we’re not too concerned,” said Mark Watkins, a city public works manager.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency continued to take applications for aid from flood victims over the weekend. It has received 557 applications for help from Ventura County residents since Feb. 9, according to FEMA spokeswoman Patti Roberts. She said 43 of those applications were received Friday.

More than half of those requests are for temporary housing assistance, whether it be hotel lodging or rentals, she said. Other requests include help for securing low-interest loans.

Statewide, more than 8,000 people in 31 counties have asked FEMA for help. About 1,500 of those residents have received $2.8 million in assistance.

Those wanting to apply for aid can call FEMA at 1-800-462-9029 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., seven days a week. Hearing-impaired applicants can call 1-800-462-7585.

Correspondent Robert Gammon and photographer Bryan Chan contributed to this report.