Authorities order evacuations as strongest storm of season heads toward Ventura County
Authorities issued evacuation orders and warnings Saturday as the strongest storm of the season heads toward Ventura County.
Rain could start falling locally late Saturday, said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. The peak of the storm — the second in a matter of days — is expected to hit Sunday afternoon and last into Monday morning.
The forecast calls for 3 to 6 inches of rainfall in coastal and valley areas. Foothill and mountain areas could see 6 to 12 inches. The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for much of the county and a winter storm watch for northern mountain areas. Those spots could get snow and wind gusts could reach 80 mph on higher peaks.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services issued an evacuation order on Saturday for the Matilija Canyon, Camino Cielo and North Fork communities above Ojai. The areas are prone to flooding and debris flows.
An evacuation order also was issued for the Ventura Beach RV Resort in Ventura.
The agency also issued evacuation warnings for residents in the following neighborhoods. The warnings mean people should be prepared to leave, but the threat is not yet imminent.
Homes in the Foster Park neighborhood near Camp Chaffee Road north of Ventura. Debris built up along a stretch of Coyote Creek near Camp Chaffee last winter.
Areas along Old Creek Road and Creek Road in the Ojai Valley.
Four homes on Grada and Trueno avenues near Camarillo. The spot is affected because of a compromised storm drain.
Along the coast, the county issued an evacuation advisory for the La Conchita area. The hillside there could be at risk of debris flows or landslides depending on rainfall in the upcoming storm.
An emergency evacuation shelter is expected to open at 9 a.m. Sunday in the Ventura College gym, 4667 Telegraph Road in Ventura.
OES director Patrick Maynard urged residents to stay alert to changing conditions and be ready to evacuate if they live in an area prone to flooding.
“The storm has the potential to drop quite a bit of rain in our county,” Maynard said. “We want folks to stay out of harm’s way.”
Here are the latest Key Messages for the impending Atmospheric River set to deliver copious amounts of rain & snow to California & parts of Nevada through Tuesday. A High Risk has been issued for Sunday across portions of the Transverse Ranges in Southern California. #CAwx #NVwx pic.twitter.com/smXRh5YW1K
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) February 3, 2024
Past storms wash out roads, cut off communities
La Conchita, a seaside community of around 300, sits below an unstable hillside, one that gave way in 1995 and again in 2005 when a landslide killed 10 and buried homes with no warning. Authorities have declared it a geological hazard zone.
Last January, dirt on the hillside above La Conchita moved. Debris from an older landslide fell about 150 feet but the mud stopped before reaching homes.
Officials say they have no surefire way to predict if or when the La Conchita hillside could fail because of the complex nature of the hazards. But the county looks at historical triggers. As of Saturday, recent rain had not reached those levels, but that could change in the upcoming storm.
“We just want to make people aware,” Maynard said. “We want them to pay attention to any changing conditions on the hillside and be prepared to leave if need be.”
Storms last January pummeled the county, filling streams and rivers and triggering mud and debris flows. Highways and roads closed — at times, stranding motorists — as they flooded with water, mud and rocks. One woman drowned as floodwaters rose in the Santa Clara River.
County helicopter crews helped evacuate Matilija Canyon residents as the remote community was cut off by the storms that dropped as much as 18 inches in just over 24 hours in the mountains. State Highway 33 and the county's Matilija Canyon Road took some of the biggest hits. Parts of the roads washed out, and others were buried in mud and rocks.
How long will the rain last?
On Saturday, county officials said Lockwood Valley Road was closed from Highway 33 to Chico Larson Road.
The storm was tapping into a lot of moisture across the Pacific Ocean, Wofford said. Timing of when its peak hits Ventura County could change as the system sweeps closer.
The big question is how long the rain will stick around.
If the storm moves through the local area faster, it may not be quite as intense, Wofford said. But as of Friday, models suggested it could stall over Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. A few models show it could move through those areas and stall to the east in Los Angeles County, he said.
“There’s still a little bit of uncertainty exactly how that is going to go,” he said.
Rain or showers could last through Tuesday, according to the forecast.
To sign up for emergency alerts in Ventura County, go to readyventuracounty.org/vc-alert. For information about the storm, evacuations and road closures, go to vcemergency.com.
A list of county fire stations with sandbags is available at https://vcfd.org/sandbag-stations/. Other spots for sandbags include the Sanjon Maintenance Yard, 336 Sanjon Road, Ventura; Camp Chaffee and Casitas Vista roads near Foster Park; and the Moorpark Library, 699 Moorpark Ave.
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: Strongest storm of season prompts Ventura County evacuation orders
