Storm Washes Away Campground, Brings Down Trees, Closes Canyon Roads
GAVIOTA (CBSLA.com) — Evacuations were ordered Friday in a flooded area of Santa Barbara County, where several campers were also rescued in the Sherpa fire burn area.
The second of three winter storms have slammed Southern California, bringing with it steady, heavy-at-times rainfall, flash flood warnings and snow in higher elevations.
A campground in in El Capitan Canyon was flooded, washing cabins and vehicles down a hillside, along with mud and trees, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
A massive eucalyptus tree went down in Santa Clarita, blocking four lanes of McBean Parkway at Old Orchard Road, while residents in Sunset Beach are bracing for possible flooding from the double whammy of heavy rain and high surf. All the canyon roads in Malibu and the California Incline in neighboring Santa Monica were closed to traffic due to runoff, rockslides and debris from the storm.
Burbank Boulevard was closed from Balboa Boulevard to the San Diego (405) Freeway in the Sepulveda Dam Recreation area, due to runoff the area typically receives in heavy rain. As of 2:30 p.m., authorities rescued four people from the Sepulveda Basin area -- two people from an RV trapped in a flooded section of Burbank Boulevard and two others from a homeless encampment that flooded. Just one person was taken to a hospital for a medical issue unrelated to the flooding, Los Angeles Fire Dispatcher Margaret Stewart said.
Caltrans shut down State Route 18 from Snow Valley to Big Bear Dam and reported vehicles stuck in heavy snow. The agency recommended drivers use State Route 38. The Los Angeles County sheriff's Palmdale station said Mountain High Ski Resort is expecting up to three feet of new snow this weekend, prompting an avalanche warning in Wrightwood.
SeaWorld in San Diego also announced it would be closed Friday due to severe weather.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for recent burn areas in Los Angeles County, with as much as three quarters to an inch of rain per hour expected.
