California Rain Storms Continue To Set Records
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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- If six days of pounding rain wasn't enough to dampen holiday spirits, a seventh could prove to be downright dangerous. Forecasters expected heavy rains across California going into Wednesday, while authorities kept a close eye on the first sign of mudslides in the wildfire-scarred foothills across the southern part of the state.
So far, the inconveniences have been relatively minor: Rescuers had to pluck some stranded motorists from rain-swollen creeks. Shoppers dodged puddles while buying last-minute Christmas gifts. Disney resorts canceled a plan to shower visitors with artificial snow.
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"We'll keep our fingers crossed, but the more rain that comes, the possibility of mudslides is definitely real," said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County sheriff's office, which has rescued nine people from the flooding in the past 24 hours.
"We've been lucky so far, but I'm not sure how much longer the luck will hold out," he said.
For all the perils of the torrential rains, there was a silver lining: The water is expected to help ease the effects of years of drought. Thursday is expected to be dry, with sunshine. There will be light rain on Christmas Day in parts of California.
The immediate concern, however, was the impact of the expected downpours, particularly in areas where wildfires strip hillsides of the vegetation that keeps soil in place and burns up the leafy ground cover that acts like a sponge.
Downtown Los Angeles received one-third of its annual average rainfall in less than a week. As of midmorning Tuesday, the rain gauge at the University of Southern California campus recorded 5.77 inches. Forecasters said another 2 inches was expected there through Wednesday.
Up to two inches of rain per hour was expected in areas primed for a major mudslide by last year's wildfire in suburbs just north of the city.
Mudslides are a significant risk for three years after a fire and are especially likely anytime the rainfall rate reaches or exceeds one inch per hour, said Susan Cannon, a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
That's a likely scenario Tuesday night into Wednesday in the area burned by last year's Station Fire, which charred 250 square miles above the suburbs tucked below the San Gabriel Mountains.
A debris flow of rocks and mud about three feet deep was detected in the area early Tuesday and forecasters warned of possible rainfall rates of .75 inch to 1 inch an hour and thunderstorm rates of 2 inches an hour in the region.
"It means that once the heaviest rains start, it should be a very active time up there," Cannon said.
Heavy rains also fill riverbeds and creeks that remain dry much of the year, often spilling onto roadways and washing them away.
In San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles, the normally dry Mojave River was running 17 feet deep and overflowing onto the roadway, said Tracey Martinez, spokeswoman for the county's fire authority.
Major rains in California can have deadly consequences.
In 2005, five days of near constant rain left at least 28 dead in mudslides and drownings, including a major debris flow in the Central Coast town of La Conchita that killed an entire family except the father. He had gone to get ice cream for his children.
So far, authorities say, there were two traffic fatalities caused by the rain in Northern California.
Swift water rescue crews saved five people who became trapped in raging flood waters, including a woman whose Ford Ranger was carried a quarter-mile downstream by an overflowing creek. Four people, including two homeless, were rescued from the Mojave.
"We've had extreme amounts of flooding. We already had some homes that came very close to being flooded," Martinez said. "And we're being told that tonight and tomorrow we'll be hit the hardest."
In Orange County, four hikers missing overnight in a flooded canyon in the Cleveland National Forest were rescued by helicopter after their car was trapped along swollen Trabuco Creek. Rescuers used a bulldozer to retrieve five other people who became stranded by the creek.
Residents who weren't trapped in flooding crept along freeways, dodging puddles downtown and doing last-minute holiday shopping.
The rain also dampened vacationers' plans. Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure canceled the daily fireworks and artificial snow that mark the resort's big holiday season, said Suzi Brown, park spokeswoman.
The rain was a boost for drought-stricken farmers and cities statewide that have been forced to patrol water use after three bone-dry years.
Water content in the snow pack in California's mountains was at 197 percent of normal and 169 percent of the average measurement for April 1 - traditionally the date when the snow's water content is at its peak, said Ted Thomas, spokesman for the California Department of Water Resources.
As the snow melts, that water will run off into reservoirs that feed the state's extensive agriculture and city water systems.
"It's just a good sign," Department of Water Resources Director Mark Cowin said.
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AP RAQUEL MARIA DILLON First Posted: 12/21/10 11:31 AM ET Updated: 05/25/11 07:20 PM ET