Holiday Storm Hammers Roads, Crops

A fierce thunderstorm drenched Ventura County on Monday, dumping several inches of rain on the cities, leaving about a foot of snow in the mountains and snarling traffic on the final day of a holiday weekend.

The storm, which had blown into the county early Sunday, wreaked havoc on the highways, with minor flooding and slippery roads resulting in dozens of accidents during the last day of the Presidents Day weekend. There were also reports of hail, lightning, toppled trees, power outages and possible crop damage throughout the county.

By late afternoon Monday, about 4 inches of rain had fallen in Santa Paula, 2 1/2 inches in Ventura and nearly 2 inches in Thousand Oaks, according to unofficial totals from the Ventura County Flood Control District. The weekend’s downpours left several cities, including Ventura and Moorpark, close to their normal rainfall levels for the season.

A team of hydrologists from the flood control district worked on the holiday to keep track of the water levels in the county’s creeks, channels and rivers. The normally shallow Ventura River, they said, reached nearly 2 1/2 feet Monday.

The rains also caused two small creeks in the Upper Ojai to overflow and flood nearby streets, flood control officials said. Both Reeves and Thacher creeks overflowed, sending water, rocks and mud onto the road and prompting county authorities to close McAndrew Road and a section of Grand Avenue.

All the county’s major waterways, however, have a long way to go before any large-scale flooding occurs, officials said. A stretch of the Santa Clara River, for instance, would have to increase sixfold over Monday’s level to flood.

“We aren’t anywhere even near threshold capacity,” said Robin Jester, an engineer with the flood control district. “We have nothing to be concerned about as of yet.”

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Jester said the storm saturated the soil in several areas of the county, including Santa Paula and Upper Ojai. That means the potential for mudslides is greater in those areas, but it would still take several more inches of rain in a short period of time for slides to occur, she said.

Crops in the county took a beating during the rainstorm, with officials anticipating damage to mature strawberries in the Oxnard Plain and Los Posas Valley.

It was too soon to tell how much fruit was ruined or how the storm will affect the market flow but Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, said he would talk with growers today to assess damages.

Laird also said he was concerned about culverts filled with debris that could overflow if more rain falls. When that occurs, crops can be flooded with water containing silt, which can be damaging.

In Los Padres National Forest, nearly a foot of snow fell on the Mt. Pinos area, and more powder expected throughout Monday night, according to U.S. Forest Service dispatcher Sue Gethen. The flurries fell as low as 3,500 feet, and there was a winter storm warning in the mountains expected until 9 p.m. Monday.

Snow chains were required on California 33 in the mountains much of the day, and officials closed the road up to the Mt. Pinos ranger station because of blizzard conditions.

Jake Blackwell, 15, of Oak View headed toward the mountains to go snowboarding with his dad. “It was the best time I’ve had up there, but it was very cold,” Jake said later.

Ventura County residents should get a break from the storms today, but will see more showers Wednesday, according to Amy Talmage, a meteorologist for WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

Today’s forecast calls for morning fog and partly cloudy skies, with temperatures ranging from the low to mid-60s. Another storm could arrive as soon as Wednesday morning and is expected to continue throughout the day. There is also a chance of showers Thursday and Friday.

On Monday the sun peeked through dark clouds in the afternoon, giving residents a relief from the blustery showers.

But a flash-flood watch was in effect through late Monday in the Upper Ojai Valley, where a December wildfire left houses susceptible to landslides and flooding. County firefighters were prepared to respond but had not received any emergency calls by Monday afternoon, and no evacuations or damage had been reported. About 10 residents stopped by to pick up sandbags Monday, Ventura County fire officials said.

Slick roads resulted in more than two dozen accidents Monday, according to the California Highway Patrol. Officers responded to nearly 30 accidents on Ventura County roads between midnight and about 4 p.m., most of which caused minor injuries.

The only fatality occurred on California 126 just east of Piru about 3 p.m. Sunday. Port Hueneme resident Kenneth Paul Ames, 29, died after his 1992 Ford Ranger spun out of control and was struck by another Ford Ranger driven by Kevin Empey, 43.

Ames’ daughter, 17-month-old Paige Ames, who was riding with him, was listed in critical condition at UCLA Medical Center Monday afternoon.

During Monday’s storm, Caltrans closed one lane on westbound California 150 near Ojai after a boulder fell onto the roadway and one lane of the southbound Ventura Freeway at California Street because of flooding.

Meanwhile, high winds and lightning left thousands of county residents without power during portions of Sunday night and Monday. Power failures were reported in Ventura, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park, Southern California Edison officials said.

The chilly storm also caused heavy surf along the coast, with waves as high as 12 feet. Coast Guard officials warned boaters Monday to stay out of the water because of choppy waters and winds ranging from 15 to 20 mph. Forecasts of continued choppy waters prompted local Masons to postpone today’s memorial at sea for victims of the recent Alaska Airlines crash.

Surfers were also advised to avoid the ocean because of high waves and runoff that could contain disease-carrying bacteria.

Don Headland checked out the swells at Surfers Point in Ventura but decided to stay on land. “The water is a little too chocolate-colored for me,” Headland said. “It’s just too brown.”

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About 35 campers waited out the storm at the Ventura Beach RV Resort, where assistant manager Tim Murphy was happy to report the puddles dotting the parking lot were the worst of it.

“Our drainage is fine; our sewers are open,” he said. “Everyone’s been calling all day and asking, ‘Are you under water yet?’ But we’re fine.”

One visitor, John Eldridge of Oxnard, figured the gray holiday weekend would be a great opportunity for “a leak check,” to make sure his new RV was rainproof. It was leak free.

Fire and police officers have kept watch on the Main Street park each rainy season since a 1992 storm flooded the park, drowned a homeless man, damaged the clubhouse and dozens of RVs, and washed one trailer out to sea.

Gene Breckner and his 5-year-old son, Brian, who were visiting from the desert, spent most of the holiday weekend indoors. But by Monday afternoon, they were feeling restless and ventured down to the beach to take a walk.

“We got cabin fever and we went to look for sun,” Breckner said. “But no such luck. So we’re on our way home.”

Gorman is a Times staff writer and Wolcott is a Times Community News reporter. Times staff writer Margaret Talev also contributed to this report.