SB COUNTY: Most mountain highways closed
By PE News
on December 21, 2010 6:59 AM
Flooding and debris flows have closed all but two routes into the San
Bernardino Mountains and isolated the communities of Lytle Creek and Mount
Baldy in the San Gabriel Mountains west of Cajon Pass, say San Bernardino
County Fire Department officials.
"Lytle Creek and Baldy ... are closed," dispatch Supervisor Jaime Vilches
said shortly before 6:45 a.m. "They're not even talking about going to look
at (Mount Baldy Road) until the rain stops."
The weather has slammed shut all of the major highways linking the San
Bernardino Valley to the San Bernardino Mountains. Those closures: Highway
18 between San Bernardino to Crestline, Highway 330 between Highland and
Running Springs, and Highway 38 between Mentone and Big Bear City.
That leaves only two secondary routes open: Highway 18 between the Cajon
Pass and Crestline, and Highway 18 between Lucerne Valley and Big Bear City.
No major public buildings have been reported flooded in San Bernardino
County, Vilches said, though a lot of water has inundated residential
neighborhoods and some homes.
Emergency crews have made several swift water rescues overnight. And one is
continuing: The rescue of two people in the Deep Creek area near the border
between Apple Valley and Hesperia.
"They seem to be OK," Vilches said. "They're ... on top of their vehicle.
"It's getting to them that's the problem."
— RICHARD BROOKS
LYTLE CREEK: Motorist rescued from rain-swollen creek
By PE News
on December 21, 2010 7:53 AM
Flood waters washed a 29-year-old Lytle Creek woman and her pickup truck off
the community's main road and into the creek last night where she was
stranded for nearly four hours, say San Bernardino County Fire Department
officials.
"She did what she was supposed to do: She stayed in the vehicle and called
911," fire department spokeswoman Tracey Martinez said this morning. "She
didn't try to get out (of the truck). And that saved her life."
The woman used her cell phone to summon help at 4:50 p.m. Monday after fast
moving water swept her Ford pickup off Lytle Creek Road while she was
driving home. Initially, she was stranded about 100 yards downstream — in
the creek.
Swift-water rescue crews tried to reach her from both sides of the creek,
but were stymied. While they were seeking a solution, the current moved the
truck about a quarter-mile farther downstream, Martinez said.
The truck finally grounded itself on an island in the middle of the wash.
And crews used a rescue gun to launch a rope out to the truck, where it was
tied tight, providing a lifeline that enabled crews to haul the woman to
safety about 8:45 p.m..
She wasn't hurt. But she was taken to a hospital for a precautionary
checkup.
— RICHARD BROOKS
Pilot killed in Lake Perris crash ID'd
08:40 AM PST on Tuesday, December 21, 2010
The Press-Enterprise
The person killed in yesterday's airplane crash at Lake Perris was a
65-year-old Riverside man, the plane's owner and pilot, Riverside County
coroner's officials have confirmed.
Christopher Julius Petrikas died at the scene of the wreck, which was
discovered at 4 p.m. Monday on a hillside in the Lake Perris State
Recreation Area.
Petrikas was the only person aboard the twin-engine Aero Commander 680FL
Grand Commander, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's website.
The plane took off about 9:30 a.m. from Palm Springs on a planned flight to
Chino Airport, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor has said. A relative of the pilot
called the FAA at 11 a.m. to report the plane overdue, triggering a search.
Riverside County sheriff's officials "pinged" the pilot's cell phone, which
they traced to Lake Perris State Recreation Area where the wreckage was
found.
The plane was built in 1968. The cause of the accident has not been
determined. (Possibly storm related)
--Richard Brooks
JUST IN: Water rescue in Pedley
By PE News
on December 21, 2010 8:45 AM
JENNIFER WHITAKER / The Press-Enterprise
A minivan stalled in a flooded roadway this morning along the 5900 block of
Steve Street in the Pedley area. Rescue crews and a swift water team
responded to the incident. No injuries were reported.
Swift water rescue crews are at the scene of a car stalled in a flooded
roadway in the Pedley area.
The incident is in the 5900 block of Steve Street.
Two vehicles were in the roadway, but one has since been driven out. In
addition to the swift water team, a fire crew and an ambulance are also at
the scene.
— JENNIFER WHITAKER
jwhitaker@PE.com
HEMET: City closes several major roads
By PE News
on December 21, 2010 9:19 AM
The city of Hemet has shut down several major streets due to flooding
problems that have made the roads unsafe to drive on.
State Street, the main North-South road into and through town, is shut down
between Esplanade Avenue and Fruitvale Avenue. State Street is undergoing a
repaving and only the outer lanes were accessible and are now partly
underwater.
Cawston Avenue between Menlo Avenue and Street is closed. Seattle Street
will also have intermittent closures based upon need to deal with the
flooding.
All of the roads are closed until further notice.
— KEVIN PEARSOn
kpearson@PE.com
UPDATE: Water rescue in Pedley ends well
By PE News
on December 21, 2010 9:27 AM
A good Samaritan pushed a vehicle out of flood waters, ending a rescue
effort in Peldley this morning.
The driver of a silver mininan became stuck in the flooded roadway this
morning is in the 5900 block of Steve Street.
A swift water rescue team, a fire crew and an ambulance were at the scene,
but were not needed.
— JENNIFER WHITAKER
MURRIETA: Stranded hikers rescued
By PE News
on December 21, 2010 9:35 AM
Three hikers reported missing Monday evening near the La Cresta area above
Murrieta were found this morning, Riverside County fire officials reported.
The men had been on a portion of the Forest Route/Tenaja Truck Trail during
the storm that has drenched the region since the weekend.
They were reported missing last night to the Riverside County Sheriff's
Department, which relayed the call to Riverside County fire officials about
11:20 p.m, officials said.
By 3 a.m., the three had been rescued.
— GENE GHIOTTO
gghiotto@PE.com
LAKE ELSINORE: Flooding prompts street closure
By PE News
on December 21, 2010 9:52 AM
A portion of Riverside Drive between Collier Avenue and Gunnerson Street in
Lake Elsinore is closed this morning due to flooding, a sheriff's official
said.
That portion of Riverside Drive is near the flood control channel and a
creek.
The official also reported that power lines are down in the area as a result
of the rain that has saturated the ground, resulting in a pole going down.
TEMECULA: Police, firefighters search for missing person
By PE News
on December 21, 2010 11:02 AM
Temecula police and Riverside County firefighters are searching for a
missing person, authorities reported.
The Fire Department got the call about 10 a.m. to assist Temecula police in
the search near Rancho California and Morago roads, a Fire Department
official said.
The area is near a park and a residential area northeast of the Temecula
Town Center.
— GENE GHIOTTO
gghiotto@PE.com
NORCO: Horses rescued from flooding in middle of the night
By PE News
on December 21, 2010 11:20 AM
An unknown number of horses were rescued from rising water at the River
Trails Riding Stables on Hamner Avenue in Norco about 2:30 this morning.
Terri Komatsu, who works at the Norco Animal Shelter, said the horses are
being lodged at Moreno Arena at Ingalls Park. A veterinarian has examined
them, and the horses are being given food and water.
— BRIAN ROKOS
brokos@PE.com
UPDATE: Child may be subject of search
By PE News
on December 21, 2010 11:51 AM
A report of a person, possibly a young child, in a wash behind a commercial
area in Temecula prompted a search by police and Riverside County
firefighters, a sheriff's spokeswoman said.
The incident was reported about 9:49 a.m. when a person on a bridge notified
Temecula police that he had spotted someone in the wash near Rancho
California and Moraga roads, said Deputy Melissa Nieburger, a Riverside
County sheriff's spokeswoman.
Sheriff's deputies converged on the area to begin searching, she said. A
fire department swift water rescue team joined in the search.
Searchers have not located anyone at this time, Nieburger said.
Deputies also have started canvassing the surrounding area checking for
anyone who might be missing, she said.
The wash runs beneath Moraga and behind a shopping center toward Interstate
15 and eventually connects with Murrieta Creek west of I-15.
— GENE GHIOTTO
gghiotto@PE.com
HIGH DESERT: Rescue team, CHP helicopter save 4
By PE News
on December 21, 2010 11:50 AM
Rescue teams and a helicopter crew have saved four men from the flood waters
of a rain-swollen desert river since last night in Victorville and
surrounding cities, San Bernardino County Fire Department officials say.
The strandings began at 11:53 p.m. Monday when a man believed to be in his
early 20s drove around road barricades along Rock Springs Road, which
crosses the Mojave River near the boundary between Hesperia and Apple
Valley.
The river normally flows underground, but last night had 17 feet of water in
it — some of which flooded the road.
"When he got 200 to 300 feet in, ... it stopped his truck," said fire
department spokeswoman Tracey Martinez. "He stayed inside the truck, which
was the right thing to do, and called 911.
"Had he got out of the truck, he most likely would have been swept away."
A swift-water rescue team used a skip loader to reach the man, who climbed
into the bucket for the ride back to dry land, Martinez said.
But at 3:38 a.m. today, a man in his 30s drove around the same barricades —
with the same results.
"He got only 100 to 150 feet when the water overcame his sedan," Martinez
said.
That motorist also stayed inside his vehicle and called 911. But this time,
rescuers had to wait for dawn and the help of a California Highway Patrol
helicopter. The crew lowered a rescue basket to the man and flew him to
safety.
The motorist was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated for hypothermia.
But at 7:51 a.m., two homeless men were stranded on a sandbar in the river
near Eva Dell Park in the Old Town section of Victorville.
"We don't know whether they were crossing the river or they were sleeping
out there," Martinez said. "But the water started rising and trapped them."
Again, the CHP flew to the rescue.
"The CHP helicopter was able to land on the sandbar," Martinez said, "and
picked them up."
By mid-day, forecasters had issued a flash flood watch through Wednesday
afternoon for the High Desert and the mountains of San Bernardino and
Riverside Counties, prompting Martinez to issue her own warning: Stay out of
flood waters, regardless of how shallow they may seem — and never drive
around road barricades.
Meanwhile, road crews were planning to augment the Rock Springs Road
barricades with a more formidable obstacle, an earthen berm.
.
— RICHARD BROOKS
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