Inland Empire Cleans Up

Though Wednesday’s downpour damaged parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, emergency officials said Thursday the Inland Empire was fortunate to survive the storm without any deadly mudslides and flash floods in the fire-ravaged hillsides.

“We’re obviously relieved nothing too traumatic happened -- nothing near the tragedies we experienced last Christmas,” San Bernardino County Fire spokeswoman Renee Cameron said, referring to the 16 people killed above San Bernardino and in Devore last December.

“People are more aware and alert after what happened then, and I believe that has made all of us more prepared,” she said.

Still, as much as 7 inches of rain fell in the mountains, and storm water flooded neighborhoods, causing major sinkholes that led to a train derailment early Wednesday in Fontana.

Authorities said a Moreno Valley traffic collision that killed a 9-year-old boy also was being investigated as weather related. Steven Jackson was killed while sitting in the front seat of a car that lost control and entered crossing traffic on Heacock Street, north of John F. Kennedy Jr. Drive.

In Fontana, two pipelines that carry fuel from Los Angeles-area refineries to markets throughout the Southwest remained out of service Thursday. The lines were shut down Wednesday because of a train derailment and erosion, both caused by heavy rainfall.

“While we clearly have no control over Mother Nature, we are working around the clock ... to restart the pipelines as soon as is safely possible,” Tom Jensen, vice president of operations and engineering for pipeline operator Kinder Morgan said in a written statement.

A 16-inch pipeline that was carrying jet fuel to Las Vegas was shut down after heavy rainfall eroded dirt, exposing lengths of pipeline. Early Thursday, workers began excavating and inspecting the line, which they hoped to have back in service by today. Early worries that the pipeline was leaking jet fuel were unfounded, the company said.

The stoppage could create gasoline and diesel supply problems in Barstow and Las Vegas, though the company believes other sources will be able to make up the shortfall.

A 20-inch pipeline carrying gasoline to Phoenix was shut down when two box cars and a tanker full of chlorine gas derailed on top of it. Workers were draining gasoline from the pipeline so the train cars could be safely removed. Then the pipeline will be excavated, inspected and put back in service this afternoon.

No supply problems are expected in the Phoenix area, the company said.

At the Pines Mobile Home Park in Rancho Cucamonga, where two large sinkholes made homes uninhabitable, residents gathered their belongings and evacuated due to concerns about the gas lines and a collapsed storm drain.

Maria Flores, a 43-year-old widow and mother of two teenage children, wept after hearing she might lose the home she purchased just last year.

A sinkhole had formed underneath her residence and she was not allowed back inside, for fear that it might collapse. In her rush to evacuate Wednesday, she forgot many of her things, including her medication and pet bird, she said.

“Everything happened so fast, I was just confused,” Flores said. Crane operators hope to lift her entire home and place it in another location at the park, but Flores and her children must stay in a hotel in the meantime.

About 20 homes at the park had been evacuated, said Valerie Scott, an assistant property manager at the park.

“We’re trying our best not to go crazy, but it’s a hard thing to know you can’t go back to your house,” Scott said.

In Norco on Thursday, Ralph and Elizabeth Price sat on their front porch recounting how neighbors, county animal rescue officials and family members had helped them evacuate 100 horses from their River Trail Stables.

“The city of Norco’s not big,” Ralph Price said. “When somebody’s in trouble, they come to the rescue.”

The rain did not become a concern until midafternoon, when Price looked out and noticed the water had reached his front porch. “That’s when I knew we needed help,” he said.

Two and a half hours later, the horses were on their way to higher ground at Ingalls Park in Riverside County. Price hopes to have his property cleaned up and his horses back in a few days, he said. “I’m just very grateful to everyone who helped us, especially the Lord, who brought them all out here on our behalf.”

Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.