Evacuation warning for Beaumont/ Banning Pass area lifted
Update: 4:40 p.m.
All evacuation warnings have been lifted for the Beaumont/Banning Pass area.
Alert RivCO: As of today Monday, July 26. All evacuation warnings have been lifted for the Beaumont/Banning Pass area. Please use caution returning to your homes. For more information. Visit https://t.co/1GBuBlWtyh / Active events.
— RivCoReady (@RivCoReady) July 26, 2021
Original Report: 10:19 a.m.
RivCoReady tweeted out a warning to people in North Beaumont and Banning Monday morning: you may need to evacuate.
MORE: First Alert Weather Alert Day as flash flooding strikes the valley
The tweet read:
Alert RivCO: Monday, July 26. Parts of N.Beaumont/Banning including Cherry Valley, and parts Morongo Reservation are under evacuation warning: Zones Noble A, Maiz A & B, Bench A, Mallard Shooting Range, Potrero A including Hathaway Canyon Rd.
RivCo Ready
Alert RivCO: Monday, July 26. Parts of N.Beaumont/Banning including Cherry Valley, and parts Morongo Reservation are under evacuation warning: Zones Noble A, Maiz A & B, Bench A, Mallard Shooting Range, Potrero A including Hathaway Canyon Rd. Visit https://t.co/W5pspIzJbM events.
— RivCoReady (@RivCoReady) July 26, 2021
The agency is alerting residents of the Apple and El Dorado burn scar areas to "be alert for monsoon and thunderstorm activity that can produce intense, heavy rainfall with little to no warning."
⚠️ FLASH FLOOD WATCH ⚠️
— San Bernardino County Fire (@SBCOUNTYFIRE) July 26, 2021
Heavy rain over 1” is possible through 7pm in the mountains & deserts. Residents near the El Dorado/Apple Fire burn scars should prepare for possible debris flows. Know your escape routes.
Get #ReadySetGo Flood safety tips 👉 https://t.co/WMISmwJbzD pic.twitter.com/mQ4nu5DXoG
"The issue with these thunder storms and monsoonal activities, you can get really high rain rates- upwards of an inch or two per hour that can, (with) that kind of rain rate on that burn scar, potentially lead to runoff," director of Riverside County's Emergency Management Department, Bruce Barton said.
Some roads in the area were shut down and signs were posted warning drivers of potential mudslides and flooding.
"I think we’re too far for any kind of mudslide. We have two washes for any kind of run-off. I think we’re pretty safe," Cherry Valley resident, John Bice said.
Bice has lived at his home for 30 years and said he never witnessed flooding in the area that caused him to evacuate.
"I’ve been really watching radar maps and I think it sort of slipped past us, yesterday we got a bunch (of rain) that went through Cherry Valley just south of us," Alison Law said.
Law is the owner of Mom's Country Orchards- a small shop that stood right across a mountainside where flames tore through when the El Dorado Fire broke out last September.
"It’s horrible altogether but these mountains will probably never burn for another 50 years. They’re starting to regrow, all the dead bushes, little green is coming out which makes me feel better. I was pretty traumatized by all this fire this year," Law said.
As of Monday, Law was confident her store would be spared once again considering she lives on a high-altitude safety zone.
While evacuations were lifted, emergency officials still advised residents to be alert for monsoon and thunderstorm activity.
"Be aware of your surroundings as you start to see the rain come down. It doesn’t have to be raining hard where you are, it could raining hard at the top of the mountain and then that’s where things would start to move and start to come down," Barton said.
First Alert Weather Team has issued a First Alert Weather Alert Day through this evening at 8 p.m. due to the potential for more storms. Flash Flood Warnings encompassed the Valley early this morning due to heavy rains from those morning storms.
A Flash Flood Warning is still up for the area surrounding Box Canyon, near Mecca, as heavy rains caused severe runoff and damage to the road there. A Flash Flood Watch remains in effect until 8 p.m. throughout the region as instability can lead to more storms through the day.ADVERTISING
Futurecast data suggests more storms possible for this afternoon.
Rainfall totals were impressive this morning, as torrential rains pelted the Valley from 3:45 a.m. through the early morning hours.
The Flash Flood Warning should expire this evening, and highs begin to warm up by tomorrow as the atmosphere dries out. Today, mid-nineties, but back closer to normal (109) through the weekend, with a chance of showers and storms returning to the forecast by late-week.
The First Alert Weather Team is tracking future rainfall and storm potential throughout the day, and you can stay completely up to day by downloading our First Alert Weather app, just click the image below!
