Crews Use Heavy Machinery Near Yucaipa To Manage Washed Out Roads
YUCAIPA (CBSLA) - Some residents in the Inland Empire faced rough driving conditions with Tuesday's downpour creating a muddy mess of streets, especially in burn scar areas like Lytle Creek.
Though there have been no reports of major damage caused by the storm, thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate for their own safety.
"So, I just barely got to here and then it came over his driveway, right here, this house," Redlands resident Jeff James said of the mud and debris on the streets.
Driving around Yucaipa and much of San Bernardino County was difficult as the rain turned streets into rivers, with debris flow and flooding taking over.
"It's getting crazy now," James said.
In Potato Canyon, at the heart of where the El Dorado and Apple fires burned thousands of acres over the last few years, county crews brought in heavy equipment to manage washed out roads, working to make them passable. Up the road at the small Birch Creek overpass, crew piled sandbags to try and divert runoff into the creek, which at times was overwhelmed by the rush of water.
New homeowner Clyde Birchard, who lives nearby, said he's not under the widespread county evacuation orders, but that he was advised to shelter in place and has been keeping an eye on the protections in his backyard, hoping they hold.
"They got a couple berms they put in," Birchard said.
Residents are staying alert to city and county social media alerts, making sure they have the most up to date information to keep themselves safe.
