Clouds Burst Over The SCV

Cold rains pounded the Santa Clarita Valley yesterday, turning local streets into bumper-car lots and steep hills into slide zones.

By early afternoon, when the torrent eased slightly, more than an inch and a half of rain had fallen.

In Iron Canyon, residents reported slides and flooding blocking streets and even ripping out the front yard of one home.

“I’ve never seen it so bad and I’ve lived here -ten years,” said Jan Heidt, an Iron Canyon resident. Mrs. Heidt and dozens of other residents there just weeks ago met with flood control officials to plot strategy for protecting homes in the area.

Fires last year turned erosionpreventing vegetation into ash. When these first heavy rains of the year struck, many hillsides came tumbling down.

“We had about 75 people out sandbagging Saturday,” Mrs, Heidt said, “and there are volunteers out there sandbagging in the rain right now.”

But despite a reported one and six-tenths inches of rain, Mrs. Heidt knew of only two houses that suffered water damage.

Power outages across the valley were commonplace yesterday. One outage at Canyon High school closed the school about 12:30 p.m. But according to Canyon’s dean of students, Jacque Snyder, the outage was caused by a traffic accident. Students at the school missed only the last class period, she said.

Snow and rain caused loss of electricity to about 5,900 local residents yesterday, according to Les Mitchell, a spokesman for Southern California Edison Company.

In Frazier Park, 1,638 residents went without -power for about two hours when snow caused a circuit to fail. Mitchell said that was the longest outage in the area.

Officials at Fire Station 123 in Sand Canyon reported flooding, but “nothing critical.”

A slightly harried California Highway Patrol reported no fatal accidents, but numerous “fender benders” throughout the valley. “We’ve got crashes all over,” a CHP spokesman said.

The National Weather Service said relief from the rains may be in sight, but weathermen almost need binoculars to see it. Today’s forecast is for an 80 percent chance of heavy rains, decreasing slightly in the afternoon.

The predicted high today is from 54 to 60 degrees with lows possibly down to 45 degrees. The same is predicted for tomorrow.

The high yesterday rocketed up to 49 degrees and drifted down to 43, according to Newhall Fire Station statistics.

Air quality is reported suitable only for ducks.