Storm Brings Rain And Wind To Valley

PALM DESERT -Forecasters say the worst of a Southern California winter storm has passed after prompting evacuations in wildfire-scarred foothills and leaving more than 20,000 people without power.

National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Boldt says the last of the rains had passed my mid afternoon Monday and that skies were expected to remain clear until Tuesday afternoon, when the week’s second storm was due to blow through.

About 2,000 people in Indio were without power for awhile Monday afternoon.

Meantime,authorities are evacuating 106 homes in the Paradise Valley area of La Canada Flintridge, says Inspector Matt Levesque of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

An evacuation center is being set up at the South gym of La Canada High School, at 4463 Oak Grove Drive, Levesque says.

More than 12,000 Southern California residents have lost power due to the heavy winter storm sweeping through the region.

Vanessa McGrady, a spokeswoman with Southern California Edison, said Monday that customers in Arrowhead, Hawthorne, Hesperia and parts of unincorporated Los Angeles County lost power. Power outages were also reported in Eagle Rock and Tujunga.

A spokeswoman from Los Angeles County Department of Water and Power didn’t immediately return a call.

Residents in Southern California foothill communities are weathering the first of three storms that could trigger mudslides and flash floods in wildfire-scarred areas.

No major damage was reported despite rain that intensified through the afternoon.

Forecasters say some areas could get up to 1¼ inches of rain an hour.