Cleanup continues after residents in Thousand Palms spent holiday digging out from mud

For some residents who live at Hidden Springs Ranch on Via Eduardo in Thousand Palms, the Christmas holiday was spent shoveling mud and debris out of their homes.

The community, which is located just off of Ramon Road, was flooded during last Friday’s storm, which carried multiple inches of thick mud and water inside several properties. 

Officials with the Riverside County Emergency Management Department responded to the area shortly after they were made aware of the situation and started to assess the needs of impacted residents. 

The County determined five homes, and a total of 11 people were impacted, according to Shane Reichardt, Public Information Officer for the County of Riverside Emergency Management Department. Residents at two of the homes were able to do most of the clean-up themselves, but residents at the three other homes needed some assistance and were placed in hotels and had their pets temporarily placed in a shelter until they are able to return home. 

“The water came down Ramon Road from Thousand Palms Canyon Road and it crosses and empty lot on Shadow Mountain and it comes into here directly into the houses,” according to resident Albert Pimentel.

County officials are limited in the resources they can offer since the affected area is private property, which includes some private roads. However, they are providing as much help as they are able to.

“We’ve been working with the residents as well as with our nonprofits. The Red Cross has been involved since that early phase and on Thursday we have Team Rubicon coming out and they will be able to assist some of the property owners with getting the mud and debris out of their homes,” said Shane Reichardt, Public Information Officer for the County of Riverside Emergency Management Department.

Watch News Channel 3 at 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. tonight for more on the story.