Crews prepare for heavy rainfall

By: JOHN HALL - Staff Writer
Southwest County could see as much as 5 inches fall through Monday | Thursday, January 3, 2008 10:18 PM PST ∞

Work crews across Southwest County have been preparing and officials say they're ready for what is expected to be a deluge during the next few days.

Rainfall between now and Monday night could nearly match the total for the entire rain season, and there could be more precipitation than the area has experienced in about three years.

Forecasters say as much as 5 inches of rain could fall in some areas with the most significant amounts occuring Friday and Saturday.

"Saturday is going to be a rather wet day," Philip Gonsalves of the National Weather Service said Thursday. "Technically, there are three storms coming one right after the other, but it will feel like just one long weekend of rain," he said.

With such a significant amount of rain falling during a relatively short amount of time in Southwest County, flooding in some areas is a given. And with flooding comes impassable roads.

Officials in the region said they are prepared to close roads when it becomes necessary, and caution motorists to obey road closure signs and avoid potentially flooded areas.

County road closure information is available at www.tlma.co.riverside.ca.us/trans/road_closures.shtml.

Should a motorist get caught in flood waters, there will be several swift-water rescue teams ready to dive into action, authorities said.

The Riverside County Fire Department has a crew based in Menifee, said fire Capt. Fernando Herrera that would be called to any water rescues in Temecula, Lake Elsinore or Canyon Lake, as those cities contract fire services from the county. Murrieta has its own swift-water rescue team and it will also be on standby, officials there said.

Sandbags are available, while supplies last, at fire stations across Southwest County.

Riverside County fire stations ---- including those in Temecula, Lake Elsinore and Canyon Lake ---- will provide bags but residents are responsible for their own sand, Herrera said.

In Murrieta, sand and bags are available at the stations on Juniper Street and California Oaks Road, as well as at the public works yard at Fig Street and Jefferson Avenue.

Residents of Lake Elsinore can pick up as many as 10 filled sandbags each at the city's public works yard at 521 N. Langstaff St. until 4 p.m. today, officials said.

The storms headed toward the region are coming from the Pacific Northwest and will also bring gusty winds and cold days and nights, Gonsalves said.

Highs during the day this weekend won't get above the 50s or 60s. Overnight lows will drop into the 30s on Sunday and Monday, forecasters say.

Southwest County residents likely won't see snow on the ground like there was in November 2004, though.

"There was too much warm air ahead of this system to allow that to happen," Gonsalves said.

But those looking to play in some snow won't have to go too far. The snow level is expected to be at 6,000 feet on Saturday and drop to about 4,000 feet by Sunday, Gonsalves said.

Idyllwild sits at an elevation of about 5,300 feet above sea level and Big Bear Mountain is at about 8,000 feet. Elevation in Temecula averages about 1,500 feet.

In anticipation of the storm, crews across the area have being clearing debris out of channels, and readying barricades.

The last heavy rain happened in late November when more than 4 inches fell in some spots locally. Temecula Public Works Director Bill Hughes said city officials were pleased with the way flood control channels flowed then, "considering the amount of rain we had in a short amount of time."

"Hopefully, this storm won't be too eventful for us," he said.

Lake Elsinore officials have done extra tarping and sandbagging in some areas of the city, spokesman Mark Dennis said.

"We are taking extra steps for this weekend's storms," he said. "In many ways, we are in better shape than previous years."

That, Dennis said, is because many of the larger construction projects in the city are finished so runoff from those sites is no longer a concern.

He added that the city's lake resources department will be closely monitoring for possible contaminants that may still make their way into the lake water from upstream sediment, Dennis said. Should that happen, he said, the public will be notified as quickly as possible.

Officials say it is possible that the downpour could lead to an overflow of the Canyon Lake Dam, which then sends water into Lake Elsinore downstream.

As of Thursday afternoon ---- before any rain fell, Canyon Lake's level was at 1,379 feet, just two feet below the dam's elevation.

Contact staff writer John Hall at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or jhall@californian.com.