Crime & Safety

[PHOTOS] Lake Elsinore, Wildomar Downpours Damage High School, Trigger Floods

Isolated thunderstorms rolled into the Lake Elsinore area shortly after 1 p.m., dumping heavy rain that left several feet of standing water.

Above photos show damage caused by storms on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014. Courtesy: Riverside County Fire Department Division Chief Todd Williams

Thunderstorm cells pounded southwest Riverside County Tuesday, damaging a school, flooding streets and knocking out power in multiple locations.

Isolated thunderstorms rolled into the Lake Elsinore area shortly after 1 p.m., dumping heavy rain that left several feet of standing water in pockets of the city.

Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

According to the Riverside County Fire Department, crews were called to Elsinore High School at 21800 Canyon Drive in response to weather-related damage and discovered a portion of the campus flooded. Structures on the athletic field were left in disrepair, according to reports from the scene.

[RELATED: CLICK HERE to see full size photos of flooding around town in our Facebook gallery]

Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

“A severe thunderstorm caused multiple power lines down, residential flooding and significant damage to Lake Elsinore High School in Wildomar,” a news release from the fire department stated. “Classes had apparently ended by the time the damage occurred. No injuries were reported.”

According to fire department officials, the Pepper Tree RV park was also flooded, though it was unclear how many residents were impacted.

According to Southern California Edison, storm-related power outages left around 4,000 customers without electricity in the Lake Elsinore and Wildomar areas. Crews were making repairs, but the SCE website indicated that most customers would not have power restored until sometime Wednesday afternoon.

Fire department officials said power lines collapsed during downpours along Lemon, Orchard, Peck and Waite streets, as well as Adelfa and Grand avenues and Canyon Drive.

Flooding was reported along Valencia and Waite streets, Paradise Lane, Prairie Avenue and View Crest Drive. Broadcast reports showed several locations temporarily inaccessible to traffic because of standing water.

According to the Riverside County Department of Public Works, no county roads in the area were closed as a result of flooding or mud flows.

Here’s a list from the Riverside County Fire Department of incidents that firefighters responded to, along with Southern California Edison, public works and Lake Elsinore Unified School District:

Electrical Lines Down – Wildomar:

  • 22285 Lemon Street
  • 21509 Lemon Street
  • Mission Trail X Lemon Street
  • 34620 Woods Lane
  • 21515 Waite Street
  • 32933 Lakeview Terrace
  • Orchard Street X Canyon Drive

Electrical Lines Down – Lake Elsinore/Lakeland Village:

  • Adelfa Avenue X Grand Avenue
  • 33418 Adelfa Avenue – LV
  • 237 E. Peck Street – Elsinore

Flooding Incidents – Wildomar:

  • 33515 Valencia Street
  • 33487 View Crest
  • 35351 Prairie Avenue
  • 33752 Paradise Lane

Pole struck/lightning – Wildomar:

  • 21545 Waite Street

Flooding Incidents – Lake Elsinore:

  • Pepper Tree RVP


— City News Service contributed to this report.

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