. . . And Then the Sky Fell In

The Orange County Storm Center was storm central Tuesday morning, after a leaky roof brought operations to a virtual halt in the midst of the latest rainfall that snarled freeway traffic.

“Our alert system is down,” said Juanita Dare, a secretary at the center that helps organize emergency storm response. Like other employees, she spent much of the morning mopping, putting tarps over computers and hoping for the best. “It’s been down all morning due to the fact that we’re being rained on inside the office.”

The wet weather that was little more than a nuisance Monday created chaos Tuesday, leading to the closure of two northbound lanes of the Santa Ana Freeway and stretches of Pacific Coast Highway. And while a typical day sees roughly 90 freeway accidents in Orange County, there were more than 500 on Tuesday, almost all blamed on the weather, officials said.

There was also a minor catastrophe at a Costa Mesa sporting goods store. The bad news: The roof fell in at the Bristol Street Sportmart. The good news: No one was injured and firefighters were able to use kiddie pools from the nearby Toys “R” Us warehouse to collect rainwater.

The storm brought relatively light rain: .14 inches to Santa Ana, .13 inches to Costa Mesa and .20 inches to the Villa Park Dam. But the total rainfall for each area is more than double the average for this time of year, according to county officials.

Rain is expected to continue through Thursday afternoon, though “it won’t be as heavy or as widespread,” said meteorologist Wes Etheredge of WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times.

The county’s traffic control center and the California Highway Patrol spent the day Tuesday trying to keep track of the congested freeways and numerous accidents.

“We’re getting a lot of additional accidents, mostly in South County,” said Officer Michelle DiMaggio with the county’s traffic center.

A two-vehicle collision in Laguna Hills sent three people to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, the Sheriff’s Department said. The driver of a black Ferrari lost control while speeding along Paseo de Valencia near La Paz Road, Lt. Steve Fauchier said. The car crossed into oncoming traffic, colliding with a Nissan pickup and bursting into flames.

The driver of the Ferrari, John Turpin, 42, of Costa Mesa, suffered second- and third-degree burns and was in serious condition Tuesday night, hospital spokeswoman Karen Prestia said. The driver and passenger in the truck were not identified, but Prestia said the passenger was treated and released.

A crash on the Orange Freeway at Nutwood Avenue involved a big-rig truck and seven other vehicles. The conditions of the motorists involved were not immediately available.

Just before 11 a.m., Caltrans closed southbound Pacific Coast Highway from Warner Avenue to Goldenwest Street because of flooding.

Roadway damage forced Caltrans to close two of the Santa Ana Freeway’s northbound lanes between Euclid Street and Brookhurst Avenue in Anaheim. Officials hoped to have all the lanes open for this morning’s commute. Motorists can call the Transportation Helpline for the latest information: (714) 724-2077.

Elsewhere, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana fire departments arrived at Sportmart to find that a 100-square-foot section of the store’s warehouse roof had fallen in about 11 a.m. and brought down a 6-inch sprinkler pipe.

“The drains [on the roof] were clogged with debris and leaves from the winter,” Santa Ana Battalion Chief John Chambers said. “I’m sure that’s the cause. When that happens it can start to look like a swimming pool up there.”

Caltrans workers also kept a close eye on soggy hills. In Anaheim Hills, one slope has been wrapped in plastic to prevent further damage to the homes atop Maple Tree Drive, officials said.

At the county’s weather center, workers were mainly concerned with cleanup after a re-roofing project led to rain pouring into its computer room.

“We’ve got plastic sheeting all over the place,” said Mel Newman, an environmental resources specialist with the center. “It’s mainly just getting carpeting wet, but we wanted to protect the computers. We had to turn them off.”