Continued Rain Raises Threat of Heavy Flooding

Torrential rains swelled rivers and creeks, blocked highways and knocked out power Monday across Ventura County, as officials warned of serious flooding if the storm continues as expected today.

The rising Ventura River caused the evacuation of the Ventura Beach RV Resort, while the CHP considered closing Highway 101 just north of the resort because of flooding. The Santa Clara River approached the flood stage, threatening low-lying homes.

Power outages were reported throughout the county, there were at least a dozen minor traffic accidents and the swift-water rescue teams were on call throughout the day.

More than 600,000 gallons of partially treated sewage flowed into the Ventura River.

A rockslide blocked Highway 150 between Ojai and Carpinteria, the CHP reported.

As of late Monday afternoon, 8.8 inches of rain had fallen at Lake Casitas, 4.1 inches at the Ventura County Government Center and 2 inches in Simi Valley.

Bruce Rockwell, a weather specialist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard, said coastal areas of the county received an average of 3 inches of rain, while inland areas got 4 to 5 inches.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings for the Santa Ynez River in Santa Barbara County and the Santa Clara River in Ventura County.

“These rains are close to what we experienced in El Nino,” said Dolores Taylor, senior hydrologist for the Ventura County Flood Control District. “A lot of rivers will be peaking before breakfast . . .”

County officials say that because of this year’s heavier-than-usual rainfall, the ground is saturated, and unable to absorb additional rain.

“If this goes on for another day, we anticipate major problems,” said Sandi Wells, spokeswoman for the Ventura County Fire Department. “We’ll see more flooding of homes and more damage.”

Meteorologists forecast rain and thunderstorms for today, and say the bad weather probably won’t clear until mid-Wednesday.

Santa Barbara County was the worst hit, with some areas reporting 10 inches of rain. Old Man Mountain, which sits on the border between Ventura and Santa Barbara counties near Carpinteria, received 12.4 inches.

The deluge caused sewage tanks to overflow at the Ojai Valley Sanitary District beginning at 6 a.m. Monday. About 1,700 gallons per minute of partially treated sewage flowed into the Ventura River from the Ventura Avenue plant.

“Nothing leaked--we just had to let go of the water,” said district General Manager John Correa said. He expected additional overflow on Tuesday.

Correa said the disinfected sewage had been 80% treated and was not dangerous.

But county health officials said the sewage still could contain bacteria, and they advised people to keep away from all storm runoff. They also warned people to stay out of the Ventura River and off the beaches between Ventura and Faria, six miles up the coast.

About 9:30 a.m. Monday, wind and rain knocked out power to 5,000 Southern California Edison customers in Ventura, Meiners Oaks and Casitas Springs. For most, electricity was restored in 45 minutes, but others went without until late afternoon. On Sunday, an outage in Thousand Oaks left 900 customers in the dark. The electricity was restored to most customers by 5 a.m. Monday.

In Oak View, the outage meant doughnuts by candlelight at Donuts & More as patrons ate breakfast and watched commuters on Highway 33 crawl through a flooded intersection where the traffic lights were out.

Down the highway, workers from Ventura County Flood Control dropped instruments from a bridge over San Antonio Creek, testing the roiling water’s velocity.

Thacher Creek, in Ojai’s east end, flooded onto roads, and up the Maricopa Highway the swollen Ventura River cut off access to homes along Camino Cielo.

Most of the dozen residents had parked their cars along the highway the night before and walked the 100-yard footbridge suspended over the churning stream.

“I’ve been waiting to see this,” said Ken Andreasen, who moved to his Camino Cielo home a year ago and has not had to use the footbridge before.

The rain was so strong that it bruised ripe strawberries, forcing growers to pick and discard them, said Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau.

“About now we are approaching too much rain,” he said. “The soil is completely loaded.”

The rain increased demand for roofing tar and rolls of heavy plastic.

“We’ve sold a lot of roofing materials,” said Tim Mayberry, owner of Mayberry’s Masonry Supplies in Santa Paula. “A lot of roofs just aren’t holding up.”

Nearby, Fruit Growers Supply sold sandbags sporadically, but with traffic snarled it was just as well there wasn’t a rush.

“The sirens have been going off like there was a parade or something,” assistant warehouse supervisor Ian Newman said.

Ferocious storms aren’t new to the county.

In 1992, flood waters killed three people and washed away more than 30 motor homes at the Ventura Beach RV Park. The flood forced 110 people to flee the park.

In 1995, more than 200 people sought refuge in Red Cross shelters after a week of driving rains that brought mudslides, uprooted trees and seriously damaged homes from Oxnard to Ojai.

The 1998 El Nino rains, caused by periodic Pacific Ocean current changes, also battered the county.

On Monday, CHP reported numerous minor accidents, along with a vehicle rollover on Pacific Coast Highway near Mugu Rock. The accident happened at 10 a.m. when Carlos Arias, 23, of Los Angeles overturned his pickup truck near Thornhill Broome State Beach, suffering minor injuries, police said.

The Santa Clara and Ventura rivers, often little more than trickles, roared near the tops of their banks.

The larger Santa Clara, which averages 40 cubic feet per second when running, was racing at 21,000 cubic feet per second Monday, flood control officials reported. The Ventura River, which averages about 50 cubic feet per second, flowed Monday at 2,500. Flood levels on the Santa Clara are 65,000 cubic feet per second, according to the National Weather Service. The Ventura River floods at about 30,000 cubic feet per second.

Taylor, the county’s senior hydrologist, said she expects serious erosion of riverbanks if the heavy rains persist.

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Staff writers Margaret Talev and Holly Wolcott, and correspondent Gail Davis contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures from the Ventura County Flood Control Division for the 30-hour period ending at 4 p.m. Monday. Oct. 1 is the beginning of the official rain year.

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Rainfall Rainfall Normal rainfall Location last 30 hours since Oct. 1 to date Camarillo 1.70 12.66 9.95 Casitas Dam 5.47 24.66 17.66 Casitas Rec. Center 8.81 27.73 17.84 Fillmore 1.99 20.48 14.31 Matilija Dam 3.50 25.95 20.30 Moorpark 2.14 13.05 10.86 Ojai 5.69 22.32 16.01 Upper Ojai 5.85 25.83 17.39 Oxnard 1.76 14.40 10.91 Piru 1.63 14.00 12.75 Port Hueneme 2.25 12.35 10.67 Santa Paula 4.78 22.85 13.42 Simi Valley 2.00 15.17 10.54 Thousand Oaks 2.05 14.37 11.38 Ventura Govt. Center 4.14 19.34 12.09

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Protecting Your Home From the Rain

With rain expected to continue through today, people living in flood-prone neighborhoods are urged to use sandbags to redirect water and debris away from their homes.

Sandbags can be obtained at local garden supply stores and some fire department stations. If sand isn’t readily available, bags can be filled with dirt or fine gravel.

“Even if you haven’t had trouble before, we have a lot more rain coming, so continue to monitor your property and, if you need to, take action,” said Sandi Wells, Ventura County Fire Department spokeswoman.

* The city of Ventura is offering residents unlimited free sandbags at its maintenance yard at 336 Sanjon Road. Up to 20 empty sandbags per person are also available at each fire station throughout the city. For information, call 652-4588.

* The County Fire Department has sandbags available at a vacant lot in the beachside community of La Conchita.

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LIMITATIONS

Sandbags...

* will not seal out water

* deteriorate when exposed for several months to continued wet and dry weather

* are used basically for low-flow protection, up to 2 feet. Protection from water higher than 2 feet requires a retaining wall or other kind of more permanent structure

Other ways to protect your home

* Clear rain gutters of debris

* Board up windows and doors to keep out debris

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Sources: Los Angeles city and county fire departments, Los Angeles County Public Works;

Researched by JULIE SHEER and STEPHANIE STASSEL/Los Angeles Times