Flash Flood Watch Remains In Effect Until 9 PM Across SoCal
VICTORVILLE (CBSLA.com/AP) — Muggy conditions continued Monday following a wild weather day in Southern California.
On Sunday, severe thunderstorms rolled through the Inland Empire, which caused torrential downpours and flash floods to occur.
Hughes Road remained closed in Victorville Monday morning due to flooding.
Rain water washed away gravel and dirt from underneath the tracks of the Riverside line.
As a result, Metrolink trains were not in operation between the Riverside-Downtown and Pedley stations, officials said. Commuters were encouraged to use the San Bernardino line as an alternative route.
The National Weather Service reported impressive rainfall totals in Southern California after a weekend of downpours fueled by remnants of former Hurricane Dolores off Baja California.
Pinyon Pines in Riverside County received 3.28 inches of rainfall on Sunday, while Running Springs and Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains had more than 2½ inches.
Countless lightning strikes and numerous flash floods were reported during the weekend. A bridge washout collapsed Interstate 10 about 50 miles west of the Colorado River.
Rain and flood damage were also reported in Moreno Valley. Firefighters said several residents were rescued from their vehicles.
Travel was impacted in Silverado Canyon as roads were closed and vehicles became stuck due to mud debris. At 2 a.m., officials reopened Silverado Canyon Road.
CBS2's Evelyn Taft reported a flash flood watch was to remain in effect until 9 p.m. Monday in Palmdale, Lancaster, Pomona and Oxnard.
Residents in Moreno Valley, where the storms caused flash flooding and mudslides, spent much of Monday cleaning up the aftermath.
City crews used heavy machinery in an attempt to clear the roads as quickly as possible, while homeowners look at a longer task for recovery.
"Trying to clear the mud and everything, it's horrible," resident Leticia Saie said. "Water, mud, I almost slipped and fell in the garage, because I didn't realize the magnitude of what had happened."
Burn areas such as Silverado Canyon experienced particularly severe mud and debris slides over the weekend.
Some residents in the Orange County community found themselves trapped in their homes, with up to four feet of mud blocking roads.
"(It was) raining very hard, for about an hour it really came down, and this is what has created the problem," resident Mike Lima said.
With nearly two inches of rain falling on the area on Sunday evening, roads became uncrossable, and residents helped city workers on Monday by getting shovels to aid in the cleanup effort.
K-rails were able to hold back some of the mud, but the elements soon took over with the amount of rain coming down over such a short period of time.
"There were three separate pretty large mud and debris flows that flowed onto Silverado Canyon road, one being about three-hundred feet long, and it was about three feet high," Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said. "Again, the roads were impassable. Two cars initially got stuck because you cannot physically drive through something like that
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