Heavy flooding in Cherry Valley causes road closures

UPDATE: 7:08 p.m.

Breaking out shovels is how Tina Light said she and most of her neighbors spent most of their Friday afternoon in their Cherry Valley neighborhood.

“I got out of the shower and heard a bunch of rumbling and everything,” Light said. “And I looked out the window, and this part of the street was just flooded with rocks tumbling all down the road. the water was up high. and I thought, ‘Oh, it looks like a river out there.”

First responders helped residents pick up the pieces from flooding reported just before 12 p.m. Friday the 10000 block of Bellflower Avenue.

The flooding forced a family of three out of their home that experienced two to three inches of damage from mudflow, mostly from an area burned in the Bogart Fire earlier this year.

Crews closed roads between Cherry Valley Boulevard and Brookside Avenue, and stopped the flooding from reaching the city of Beaumont.

While residents like Kim Smith said they’ll work to return back to normal.

“We’ve had rains like this before and this has never happened,” Smith said. “We’ve been here 15 years and this is the first time we’ve seen this.”

Fire crews said no injuries were reported.

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ORIGINAL STORY: 3:49 p.m.

Mud and debris flows from heavy rains forced road closures Friday in Cherry Valley and Moreno Valley.

Officials said it appears the mudflow was coming from the area burned from the Bogart Fire earlier this year in Cherry Valley. According to the Riverside County Department of Transportation, four roads were taken out of service Friday morning and were expected to remain shut down until the afternoon to evening.

In Cherry Valley, county officials closed Bellflower Avenue, between Dutton Street and Brookside Avenue, after mud washed onto the roadway from nearby Bogart Park. The roughly mile-long closure was disrupting traffic from Cherry Valley Boulevard and surrounding streets. However, no homes were impacted by the slide, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

Cal Fire was also responding to a home that was flooded with water and mud on the 10000 block of Bellflower road.

The same weather-related disturbance prompted the closure of portions of Brookside, between Bellflower and Beaumont Avenue, according to transportation officials.

In Moreno Valley, most of Box Springs Mountain Road was closed in Box Springs Mountain Park due to debris and mud.

The longest closure — about 2 miles — was along Reche Canyon Road, just north of Moreno Valley. According to transportation officials, hazardous driving conditions led to the closure, beginning at Reche Vista Drive and
extending to the city limits.

Check out road closure notices

KESQ News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 is tracking more rain heading into the Coachella Valley. We’ll have updates throughout the evening.