O.C. Weathers Storm’s Worst

The first storm of the year continued to take its toll on Southland residents Friday, with strong winds, high tides and rain causing accidents and road closures across the county.

Authorities recorded more than two dozen accidents on the highways through the early afternoon Friday, compared to more than 70 on Thursday. Although the storm eased up Friday afternoon, authorities in several coastal cities kept a close eye on the high tide and strong winds.

In Huntington Beach, Pacific Coast Highway was closed between Warner Avenue and Goldenwest Street because of flooding. “This happens every year,” said Huntington Beach Police Lt. Clyde Stuart. “There’s nothing you can do about it.”

Because the three-mile stretch of the road has a natural dip, sand and water are pushed onto it, causing closures, Stuart said.

In Seal Beach, fire and police remained on standby throughout the day in anticipation of weather-related problems.

The National Weather Service predicted possible thunderstorms and waterspouts through Saturday, with waves up to 12 feet, prompting warnings against venturing out on jetties to watch the big surf or to fish.

But the coastal cities did not experience the severe flooding from the high tides and strong winds that was feared.

“If we make it through today, we’ll be good for the weekend,” Seal Beach Police Sgt. Jim Johnson said.

As the storm subsided, county work crews began their cleanups and repairs.

“It’s the most activity since the El Nino in 1998,” said Bill Tidwell, public works crew manager for Orange County. “But it was certainly less than anything we saw then.” Tidwell added that the north county had been most affected by the storm.

The heavy rains may have caused a second beach closure in Orange County on Friday. Two miles of San Clemente around Avenida Pico is off-limits to swimmers and surfers because of a 36,000-gallon spill of partially treated sewage.

A 30-inch pipe that carries the sewage from a plant to an outfall broke at El Camino Real and Avenida Pico. Workers had not yet excavated the pipe Friday morning, so it’s unknown if rainwater intrusion caused it to break. The spill was reported at 7:30 a.m. Friday.

On Thursday, rainfall caused the first Orange County beach closure of the new year. A 3/4-mile stretch of Doheny State Beach remains off limits because of a 2,000-gallon spill of barely treated sewage. The spill was caused by an equipment malfunction near the Southeast Regional Reclamation Authority’s plant in Dana Point.

Bacteria levels will be dangerous at all beaches for at least three days. The heavy rainfall is washing urban runoff--a toxic brew of pet waste, oil and other contaminants--into creeks, storm drains and other pathways to the Pacific. The resulting plumes of polluted water will linger on the ocean surface near the shoreline.

Hiking trails at nine county parks also remain closed to protect the public as well as the flora and fauna.

Gen. Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park, Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, Peters Canyon Regional Park, Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park are all closed.

Campgrounds remain open but trails are closed at Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park and O’Neill Regional Park. Picnic areas remain open but trails are closed at Santiago Oaks Regional Park and Irvine Regional Park.

The trail closures probably will last into next week.

Eric Edge, a meteorologist with WeatherCentral, which provides forecasts for The Times, said the weather over the weekend will be dry and partly sunny, with 5 mph to 15 mph hour winds expected.

“It looks like things are going to finally calm down and dry out,” Edge said.

For updates and more information on Orange County beach conditions, call (714) 667-3752 or go to www.oc.ca.gov/hca/regulatory/ocean/beach.htm.

For more information on Orange County park closures, call individual parks or see www.ocparks.com.

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Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.