Storm chaser

One recent morning, tile contractor Gary Meza, 62, drove 20 minutes from his Covina house to blast through whitewater on the west fork of the San Gabriel River 15 miles north of Azusa. A 30-year veteran boatman, Meza does this three or four times a week when the water is flowing. “It’s exciting, it’s close to home, it’s some serious boating,” he says. But Meza, who often kayaks with friends, does not recommend the plunging watercourse for newbies. “It’s too fast and steep. We want to have fun, but we don’t want to kill ourselves.”