Scattered showers are expected in Riverside County today following a powerful storm that caused flooding ... which left a homeless woman dead in Corona, while others had to be rescued from potentially deadly flash flooding ... the deluge threatened a home in Lake Elsinore , prompted evacuation orders around recent burn areas, and, sent rivers of water running down urban streets resulting in a patchwork of closed roads, and the storm washed out portions of roads and at least one major highway around the region.
The fatality in Corona involved a woman who had been with her boyfriend, huddled in a concrete storm water channel in Riverside, beneath La Sierra Avenue, just off of the 91 Freeway. Riverside city officials say the woman and the man were transients taking shelter from the rain. Then as runoff rose quickly in wash, the two were swept away in the swift water and ended up in Corona. Both were pulled from the water by rescuers in Corona. The male survived, the woman was declared dead at the scene.
There were other swift water rescues around the region yesterday, including from the Santa Ana River in Redlands, the Soboba reservation in San Jacinto, the Whitewater River in the Coachella Valley.
The Coachella Valley was one of the worst areas hit by the storm. Getting into and out of Palm Springs was an hours-long chore, as Highway 111 and other roads accessing Palm Springs from the 10 freeway were all closed yesterday, and many remain closed this morning. Several streets in downtown Palm Springs were closed, as veritable rivers were running thru streets, runoff from the adjacent San Jacinto Mountains. Voluntary evacuations were requested from residents of Palm Springs mobile home park, due to flooding in a nearby wash. And all of this as thousands of visitors were arriving in - or trying to get into - town for yesterday’s opening of Modernism Week, one of Palm Springs biggest annual tourist events.
Elsewhere, The Riverside city fire department was called to check on a car partially submerged in water at Fairmount Park, but no one was inside.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department says it rescued a total of 15 people from dangerous swift water situations yesterday, including a daring Cal Fire helicopter rescue in the Redlands area. A couple was trapped on small island of brush in the normally-dry Santa Ana River, amid a torrent of swift water runoff that was endangering their lives.
There were mandatory evacuations ordered for the Holy fire burn areas yesterday, as flooding and mudflows damaged property.
TV news video showed swift water flowing through a gulley eroded its banks close to the foundation of a home in Lake Elsinore.
In our local mountains, up to 8 inches of rain fell in a matter of a few hours. That led to the collapse of a portion of Highway 243, the main route from the 10 freeway up to the Idyllwild area. A huge sinkhole on Highway 243 south of Banning consumed a wide patch of the mountain roadway. Caltrans officials say Highway 243 to Idlyllwild will be closed for weeks to repair the damage.
Also, portions of Highway 74 east of Hemet, Highway 38 east of Mentone, and Highway 18 between Snow Valley and Big Bear were closed this morning (Friday) due to mudflows and rockslides. Click here for the latest info on San Bernardino road closures.
Residents in Riverside County - including the Holy fire burn areas - can go to www.RivCoReady.gov to find out the latest status on road closures and evacuation orders.
