The worst effects did not occur where they had been expected: down slope from Los Angeles County burn areas.
In the run-up to what became one of the worst storm systems to hit Southern California in five years, all the concern was focused on the Los Angeles foothill communities scarred by the Station fire.But when the wildest weather arrived Wednesday, the worst-hit areas were not La Cañada Flintridge or La Crescenta in the San Gabriel Mountains.
Instead, by the luck of the draw, the heart of the storm plunged straight into Orange County and the Inland Empire, giving those areas a soaking that residents said was the worst in recent memory.
The storms were one of the most powerful systems to strike Southern California since the memorable El Niño storms of the winter of 2004-05. And they seemingly embarrassed weather forecasters and climatologists who had earlier predicted that because of La Niña, this winter would be drier than average.
Laguna Beach was doused with 4.29 inches of rain in just 24 hours — nearly half of what the city has received all week. A storm drain channel that normally diverts excess water underneath downtown and into the ocean surged over its barriers, bursting onto Beach Street, pulling down a chain-link fence and sending water spraying up to 15 feet in the air.
The storms reduced Laguna Gardens Nursery to a field of broken pottery, strewn bricks and toppled stonework, pushing over statues of Buddha weighing several hundred pounds.
"There have been three floods here since 1981, but this one was by far the most violent .... Everything's gone," said Kevin Naughton, 57.
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View entire article here: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-1223-rain-storms-20101223,0,7411236.story
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