Storm Unleashes Rain, Snow, Wind; More Due Today

The season’s first major storm slammed Ventura County on Wednesday, blanketing the back country with snow, forcing the evacuation of two seaside apartments and contributing to two dozen fender-benders on local roadways, including two involving school buses.

Today’s outlook was equally wet as weather forecasters predicted a 100% chance of rain throughout the county this morning and scattered showers during the day.

“It’s a strong, cold Pacific storm. The heaviest rain was probably felt in Central and Northern California but our area is catching up,” said Ray Tanabe, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

Winds topping 30 mph were expected to hit the high country today with temperatures dipping into the 40s countywide. More than a foot of snow is forecast for mountain areas above 4,000 feet, officials said.

A heavy surf advisory will be in effect through today with weather experts forecasting waves from 10 to 15 feet.

The storm caused flooding on Santa Monica and Sawtella avenues in Oxnard’s Silver Strand community and also on Landen Street in Camarillo, said Sandi Wells, chief information officer for the Ventura County Fire Department.

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Rock slides were cleared in Matilija Canyon and along Pacific Coast Highway, and authorities told residents in the beach community of La Conchita to retrieve sandbags being stored at a neighborhood vacant lot and shore up their homes.

A dozen vehicles were disabled with flat tires Wednesday night because of rocks on Pacific Coast Highway near Leo Carrillo Beach, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Oxnard Airport officials said planes took off and landed but encountered delays of more than 30 minutes Wednesday. Spotty telephone outages were reported in Lockwood Valley.

In the midst of the pounding rain, the Ventura County Fire Department enacted its emergency flood plan that included placing a four-person swift water rescue team on duty in Camarillo, Wells said.

As of late Wednesday, no major agricultural flooding was reported because the rain was being soaked up by dry farmland that has received less than half the normal rainfall for this time of the year.

“There was tremendous need to recharge the ground water and this will also help eliminate fire hazards and wash off the trees,” said Rex Laird, director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau. “Other than being somewhat of a nuisance to a few, this is going to benefit us handsomely.”

Laird, however, added that farmers planning to plant mixed lettuce crops this week may have to hold off a few days until conditions improve. Celery pickers were expected to continue harvesting in the rain.

While many welcomed the rain, Dolores Taylor of the county’s flood control district was concerned about potential flooding.

“We’re a little nervous because it’s the first big storm of the year,” Taylor said, adding that county hydrologists were keeping watch on several areas prone to flooding in El Rio, near the Ranch fire site in the eastern Ojai Valley and in Thousand Oaks off Moorpark Road, where a holiday blaze scorched several hundred acres.

These areas, Taylor said, contained debris that “blocks culverts, and water can’t get through and then it comes out and goes down the street and through someone’s house.”

As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, nearly 2 inches of rain had fallen in Santa Barbara and more than an inch at Casitas Dam, the Ventura County Government Center, Santa Paula and Saticoy, Taylor said.

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The downpour sent homeless people throughout the county to a shelter at Oxnard’s National Guard Armory, where they sought cots, blankets, hot showers and food. As of 4 p.m., 120 people had arrived and volunteers anticipated at least 150, said Mike Ewens, project manager for the Salvation Army, which runs the Oxnard/Ventura Cold-Weather Shelter.

“We’re seeing a lot of folks we haven’t seen before,” Ewens said. “A lot of their hiding places are being washed out.”

In the far northern reaches of Ventura County in Lockwood Valley, snow was falling to the delight of residents. About 2 inches had stuck as of 5 p.m. and up to a foot of snow was expected by today.

“It’s beautiful up here,” said Dave Gasaway, one of two resident deputies at the Ventura County sheriff’s substation in Lockwood Valley. “The sky is totally white, of course, and there are big flakes coming down. The rooftops are covered in snow.”

The Lockwood Valley substation is at about 5,600 feet. Gasaway said the U.S. Forest Service had not closed any roads but chains were required in several areas, including Lockwood Valley Road.

As rain pelted the county, boaters scrambled to tie down their masts and secure their crafts, while those who rely on warm weather to earn their living turned sour at the sight of clouds.

David Delano of Vessel Assist in Ventura Harbor, a company specializing in towing stranded boaters, said the worst thing for business is a steady, driving rain. Wednesday afternoon, Delano looked out at the dark storm clouds and prayed for sun.

“This kind of weather puts us almost out of business,” Delano said.

At one of the county’s main reservoirs, officials were not anticipating a huge change in levels from the latest storm.

Jim Kentosh, manager of operations for United Water Conservation District, which operates Piru Lake, a main water supplier for Ventura County, said the lake is at 35% of its capacity of 87,200 acre-feet.

He said water rates are expected to change little from the storm but added any amount of precipitation is good.

“The perfect scenario is to have a whole lot of rain. That would be nice,” Kentosh said. “But it’s really at the normal level. We’re right about where we should be.”

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Meanwhile, 8-foot swells north of Leo Carrillo State Beach reached the shoreline and jumped a retaining wall about 11 a.m., flooding the deck of an apartment complex owned by the state Parks and Recreation Department, authorities said.

Three or four state park employees living in two apartments on the bottom floor were told to remove or elevate valuables and stay elsewhere for a couple of days. Top-floor residents were allowed to stay, authorities said.

“There’s a 6-foot rock wall between the beach and the deck and it was splashing right over it,” Ventura County Fire Capt. Steve Winter said.

Wells, the county Fire Department spokeswoman, said 24 hand-crew members were sent to the site in the 12000 block of Pacific Coast Highway and spent several hours packing sandbags around the complex.

No major injury crashes were reported but CHP spokesman Dave Webb said there were dozens of spin-outs, fender-benders and chain-reaction pileups.

About 3:20 p.m. a loaded school bus and a vehicle collided near Lantana Street and Ponderosa Loop in Oxnard, and a similar crash involving a smaller school bus from Valle Lindo School that was carrying one student was reported near Aileen Street and Skeel Drive in Camarillo. No injuries were reported in either crash.

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Times staff writer Timothy Hughes contributed to this report.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Location: Camarillo

Rainfall last 24 hours: 0.71

Rainfall since Monday: 0.75

Rainfall since Oct. 1: 1.54

Normal rainfall to date: 5.28

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Location: Casitas Dam

Rainfall last 24 hours: 1.19

Rainfall since Monday: 1.34

Rainfall since Oct. 1: 4.25

Normal rainfall to date: 8.82

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Location: Casitas Rec. Center

Rainfall last 24 hours: 1.13

Rainfall since Monday: 1.38

Rainfall since Oct. 1: 4.15

Normal rainfall to date: 8.95

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Location: Fillmore

Rainfall last 24 hours: 0.63

Rainfall since Monday: 0.75

Rainfall since Oct. 1: 1.78

Normal rainfall to date: 7.42

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Location: Matilija Dam

Rainfall last 24 hours: 0.93

Rainfall since Monday: 0.94

Rainfall since Oct. 1: 4.05

Normal rainfall to date: 9.65

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Location: Moorpark

Rainfall last 24 hours: 0.55

Rainfall since Monday: 0.63

Rainfall since Oct. 1: 1.50

Normal rainfall to date: 5.57

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Location: Ojai

Rainfall last 24 hours: 0.25

Rainfall since Monday: 0.50

Rainfall since Oct. 1: 2.66

Normal rainfall to date: 7.70

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Location: Upper Ojai

Rainfall last 24 hours: 0.76

Rainfall since Monday: 0.91

Rainfall since Oct. 1: 3.72

Normal rainfall to date: 8.28

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Location: Oxnard

Rainfall last 24 hours: 0.17

Rainfall since Monday: 0.39

Rainfall since Oct. 1: 1.10

Normal rainfall to date: 5.35

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Location: Piru

Rainfall last 24 hours: 0.55

Rainfall since Monday: 0.55

Rainfall since Oct. 1: 0.66

Normal rainfall to date: 6.35

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Location: Port Hueneme

Rainfall last 24 hours: 0.51

Rainfall since Monday: 0.71

Rainfall since Oct. 1: 1.47

Normal rainfall to date: 5.32

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Location: Santa Paula

Rainfall last 24 hours: 1.30

Rainfall since Monday: 1.42

Rainfall since Oct. 1: 2.94

Normal rainfall to date: 6.74

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Location: Simi Valley

Rainfall last 24 hours: 0.18

Rainfall since Monday: 0.28

Rainfall since Oct. 1: 0.89

Normal rainfall to date: 5.30

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Location: Thousand Oaks

Rainfall last 24 hours: 0.26

Rainfall since Monday: 0.51

Rainfall since Oct. 1: 1.12

Normal rainfall to date: 5.67

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Location: Ventura Govt. Center

Rainfall last 24 hours: 0.94

Rainfall since Monday: 1.18

Rainfall since Oct. 1: 2.27

Normal rainfall to date: 5.93