Storm Floods LA Freeways, Topples Trees and Drops Nearly 4-Inches of Rain

Photo: By Greg Doyle. The USGS measures the waterflow of the Los Angeles River at Sepulveda Boulevard In Sherman Oaks Sunday.

LOS ANGELES, CA, -- The heaviest rainfall in a decade moved into Los Angeles where freeways flooded, trees fell onto cars, streets and houses, roadways were blocked, traffic was shut down and nearly four inches of rain fell in Long Beach and the South Bay area Sunday.

The southern end of the Long Beach (710) Freeway flooded, south of Willow Street, north and southbound lanes were shut down and the Harbor (110) Freeway was underwater at 223rd Street, according to CHP reports. Southbound Long Beach Freeway lanes reopened at Pacific Coast Highway at 10:50 p.m. but northbound lanes remained closed.

Two teenage young men had to be rescued early this evening by the Long Beach Fire Department's Swift Water Rescue Team after they decided to raft down the Los Angeles River during the rainstorm.

The rescue began about 5 p.m. at Long Beach Boulevard and the Los Angeles River, according to Long Beach Fire Department spokesman Jake Heflin.

"We dispatched resources at Long Beach Boulevard and the L.A. River to search for two individuals after their rafts were spotted empty in the river," Heflin told City News Service.

About 15 minutes later, firefighters pulled one young man from the fast- moving current and then around 5:25 p.m. firefighters found the second teen who had managed to pull himself out of the water.

"They were evaluated by firefighters and transported to a hospital for treatment of possible exposure," Heflin said.

The pair rescued were 17 and 18 years old, he said.

Miles of stopped cars clogged the 110 Freeway heading towards San Pedro. County weather gauges measured 3.8 inches of rain in Long Beach, 3.4 inches of rain at Lomita, 2.9 inches in Signal Hill and 2.6 inches on the Palos Verdes peninsula.

Fire crews were dispatched to reports of people trapped in flooded vehicles on Vermont Avenue, and five people were rescued from a homeless encampment in a park that was flooded on Pacific Coast Highway west of the Harbor (110) Freeway in the Wilmington area, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. One of the people, a 39-year-old man, was hospitalized.

In Malibu, Pacific Coast Highway was temporarily closed in both directions at Topanga Canyon Boulevard because of unsafe road conditions. And there were lane closures on Mulholland Highway, just north of Pacific Coast Highway, on southbound Kanan Road, two miles north of PCH and at Corral Canyon Road and PCH, all due to mud and rock slides, according to Malibu authorities.

County geologists said Saturday that the cliffs in Malibu Canyon were unsafe, and boulders might fall on the narrow two-lane linking Calabasas and Malibu. That road might be closed through the end of the week, Malibu officials said.

Residents along Kanan-Dume Road said county road scrapers were working to keep mud off that route starting at 4:30 a.m.

At Zuma Beach, fire department bulldozer drivers worked in the surfline Saturday to bolster sand berms in front of the lifeguard headquarters and restroom buildings. At high tide, waves were observed hitting the seawall.

And winds were strong, blowing form the east. Gusts above Topanga Canyon hit 44 miles per hour.

In the Hollywood Hills, a tree fell onto Laurel Canyon Road at Kirkwood Drive in the Mount Olympus area and shut down Laurel Canyon Road at that intersection, fire department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said.

Traffic was diverted away from San Gabriel Boulevard and the San Bernardino (10) Freeway underpass because of flooding, according to the San Gabriel police. The L.A. County Department of Public Works sent a crew to help repair the drainage problem, according to the police.

Burbank Boulevard through the Sepulveda Basin in Encino from east of the San Diego (405) Freeway to at least Balboa Boulevard was temporarily shut down because of flooding due to heavy rains, according to Los Angeles police. That section of Burbank Boulevard was expected to remain closed until at least Monday, according to authorities.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the Long Beach and South Bay area, and said its radar and gauges detected rain falling at the rate of 3/4-inch per hour.

Inland, sheriff's deputies went door to door to evacuate houses in hillside neighborhoods beneath burned-out slopes Sunday.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued to residents in the Sand Canyon fire area in Santa Clarita. The area remained under a flash flood watch through this evening.

Several roads leading into the Val Verde area were washed out and residents there were urged to shelter in place.

Heavy rain had moved into western Los Angeles County, and a flash flood warning issued for the entire county, by midmorning. By 2 p.m., nearly 2 inches of rain had fallen in Newhall, near where fire-denuded hillsides were threatening to send mud into adjacent neighborhoods.

Western L.A. County got the first large rains: 1.82 inches of rain at Topanga Canyon, and 2 inches of rain at Zuma Beach, had fallen by 2 p.m.

Snow was falling on the 5,700-foot summit of Mount Wilson, much lower than the predicted level early in the storm. But the snow was not expected to fall as low

In Duarte, mandatory evacuation orders were issued for homes in subdivision below the Fish Fire. In Orange County, homes beneath fire areas in Silverado Canyon was also reportedly ordered to be evacuated.

The Army Corps of Engineers was making room for storm runoff from the San Gabriel Mountains and Inland Empire, by releasing water into the Santa Ana River at Prado Dam, according to Orange County firefighters.

The concrete flood control channel carried that water to the ocean near Newport Beach.

At Hermosa Beach, the pier was closed due to heavy rain and high surf. Surf up to 16 feet had been predicted overnight, but the waves were predicted to diminish.

At Santa Anita Park, Sunday's races were cancelled. But the betting hall was kept open for hard-core fans to wager on races in sunnier climes.

The National Weather Service reported 3.91 inches of rain Sunday in Long Beach, 3.35 inches in Redondo Beach, 2.83 inches at LAX, 2.15 inches in downtown Los Angeles, 2.64 inches in Whittier and 3.30 inches at the San Gabriel Dam.

In Orange County, Yorba Linda received 3.59 inches of rain, Garden Grove 3.55 inches, Huntington Beach 2.95, Santa Ana 2.75, Fullerton Airport 2.66 and 1.18 at Corona del Mar.

Sunday's storm was particularly moist and slow-moving, packing a bigger punch than the two storms before it, NWS Meteorologist Carol Smith said.

The moisture was subtropical, moving in from the southwest with "a good lift over the San Gabriel Mountains," she said

A Flash Flood Watch remained in effect through 6 p.m. Monday for Los Angeles County as will a Winter Storm Warning for strong winds and heavy snow in the mountains, said NWS Meteorologist Scott Sukup.

Orange County is also under a Flash Flood Watch, according to the NWS.

Showers and thunderstorms are expected through Monday, possibly lingering into Tuesday, Sukup said. Wednesday through Friday should be clear and cool, with temperatures in the low to mid-60s.

The drought impact of the past week's storms could be quantified Monday, Smith said. That's when the state's drought update will be issued.

HANS LAETZ at City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.