Hilary: Bursts of heavy rain douse Ventura County areas, flooding roads and toppling trees
Bursts of heavy rain doused parts of Ventura County on Sunday, breaking records, flooding roads and toppling trees as a historic tropical storm swept through Southern California.
Hilary, the first tropical storm to hit region in 84 years, pummeled some spots, blocking roads and highways with mud and debris and temporarily closing a stretch of Interstate 10 near Palm Springs. But in Ventura County, officials reported few major problems.
Shortly after 2:30 p.m. Sunday, as authorities braced for more wind and rain, a 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck near Ojai. Police around the county said damage from the storm and quake was mostly confined to minor flooding, downed trees and merchandise being knocked off shelves. Thomas Aquinas College in Upper Ojai had minor damage to some buildings but no major structural problems.
No significant injuries related to the storm or quake were reported, local authorities said.
Roads flooded between 10th and 13th streets in Santa Paula, but the water has since subsided, interim Chief Don Aguilar said Monday. In Ojai, officials reported a downed power pole and a fallen tree near City Hall.
Authorities issue flood warnings
The rain started Sunday morning in Ventura County as the center of Hilary still churned off the coast of Mexico. Later, wind gusts picked up, reaching over 50 mph in the Santa Monica Mountains and 44 mph at the Camarillo Airport.
But strong, sustained winds were mostly a no-show locally.
"The fact that we didn't have the wind component reduced the number of downed trees, power outages, things of that nature," said Patrick Maynard, director of the Ventura County sheriff's Office of Emergency Services.
The county didn't experience any significant storm-related power outages, he said.
By late afternoon, winds behind the tropical storm pushed intense bursts of heavy rain into areas from Point Mugu to Camarillo. Spots in the western Santa Monica Mountains recorded rainfall rates over an inch per hour, said Rich Thompson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
Flooding prompts evacuation
The weather service issued flash flood warnings, and the Ventura County Fire Department responded to dozens of weather-related calls. Most were reports of flooding and a few of people stranded in a vehicle or in the river bottom, department officials said.
In a neighborhood near Las Posas Country Club outside of Camarillo, three homes were temporarily evacuated on Sunday because of flooding due to a damaged storm drain pipe on private property. The pipe originally failed during winter storms and the area has flooded previously. The homes were deemed safe relatively quickly, and residents said they were able to stay put.
Ivar Tombach and his wife Diane Fisher saw water and mud damage their neighborhood in March when the corroded pipe failed, leaving a gaping hole in their backyard. It still hasn’t been fixed pending the resolution of discussions involving several property owners, they said Monday.
The retired couple said the problem seemed much worse during Sunday's storm.
“We were pretty scared,” Tombach said.
The heaviest rainfall tapered off around 9 or 10 p.m. Sunday, Thompson said.
In all, the county's coastal areas recorded roughly 1 to 3 inches of rainfall and foothills and mountains received closer to 2 to 4 inches. A gauge at one of the wettest spots in the county on Sunday near the Toland Road Landfill in Santa Paula recorded nearly 6 inches of rainfall.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cheri Carlson covers the environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Tropical storm: Bursts of heavy rain douse parts of Ventura County
