UPDATE: Vista Chino Still Closed At Wash After Levee Break Causes Major Flooding

PALM SPRINGS -Vista Chino remains closed at the Whitewater Wash as Gene Autry Trail.Indian Canyon Drive were back openMonday eveningin Palm Springs aftera levee broke at a water-settling pond near the windmill farms north of the city early Sunday morning, police said.

Crews used heavy equipment to clear out Vista Chino, which was closed between Executive Drive and the Cathedral City limit, according to Sgt. Mitch Spike of the Palm Springs Police Department.

Indian Canyon Drive re-opened just after 2pm today.

The levee broke around 3:30 a.m. Sunday, sending a flood of water down the normally dry Whitewater River, police said. Three motorist were briefly trapped in their cars, but either climbed to safety or were rescued by the city’s fire department.

Cathedral Canyon was also shut down at the wash in Cathedral City for a few hours.

The flooding was caused when heavy rain in the mountains northwest of the Coachella Valley apparently overwhelmed a series of settling ponds that normally use Whitewater River water to recharge the underground aquifer that stores drinking water for Palm Springs-area cities.

Many major roads in the desert cross the floor of the wash, and are only rarely flooded.

Stay with News Channel 3 and KESQ.com for the latest information.