Many face tough clean up after floods

Areas hit hardest by the flooding around the valley saw little progress in flood reduction today, with additional rainfall this morning adding to the already record breaking numbers.

Rain was needed for our drought stricken area but not this much all at once. Now the arduous task of cleaning up awaits many valley residents.

In a Coachella neighborhood, Maria Otton stands in her driveway evaluating the mess left by several feet of water. She says, “Oh its a mess, a mess after, see all this. We’re going to have to clean after.”

Pumps were brought in to help clear the deepest waters but progress is slow going.

Maria continues, “Yea they’re trying to pump it out they came in last night but with the rain still coming I don’t know how far they’re going to get.”

However, not all the effects of the heavy rainfall have been negative. The “Little Fire” just south of Lake Hemet is now at 100 acres but is 70 percent contained.

Lee Beyer is with the U.S. Forest service monitoring the fire. “The humidity slows the fire down,” Beyer says, “keeps it on the ground and just in general it burns a lot slower, it doesn’t want to move so humidity definitely helped us out on this fire.”

Many valley residents are happy to see temperatures stay well below normal highs above 100 degrees.

Cam Shaffer of La Quinta tells us, “I love it, 85 degrees and were walking at one o’clock in the afternoon so you cant beat that.”

Still residents are staying on their toes with the possibility of additional heavy rain through the week. It’s not a question of if flooding in the valley will happen again, but when. Leaving many wondering what will be done to prevent water from piling up and possibly inundating their homes.

Tristan Garcia struggled to leave his neighborhood with several feet of water in between his home and the exit gate. He says, “I think they need to come up with a better flooding plan for us. We’re a giant big bowl and it keeps collecting. So they need to help us out on that.”