Storm leads to rescues, floods and crashes in Southland

Heavy rain pounded Southern California on Sunday, leading to flooding, mud and debris flows and the swift water rescue of a man in the Santa Ana River. The storm also produced snow in the mountains, creating hazardous driving conditions.

The river rescue occurred Sunday morning near Garden Grove

Boulevard, the Orange County Fire Authority reported.

Rescuers found the man clinging to a cement wall underneath where the boulevard passes over the river. No details on how he wound up in the water were immediately available.

A couple of hikers stranded behind the brimming San Gabriel River near the Heaton Flats trail also were rescued, the Los Angeles

County Sheriff's Department said on Twitter.

And in Ontario, a woman had to be plucked out of the Cucamonga wash near Airport Drive, the fire department said.

Steady rain fell in the northern San Fernando Valley, where the California Highway Patrol responded to a big-rig crash on the northbound 5 Freeway at Sheldon Street in the Sun Valley area. The vehicles involved in the crash were cleared around noon, but both sides of the freeway were flooded as of 12:30 p.m. Caltrans had its pumps on scene trying to clear the water.

In Long Beach, police were sent around 9 a.m. to the 300 block of Cherry Avenue, where a palm tree had fallen on a car. No injuries were reported, police said.

In Laguna Niguel, the driver of a car going south on the 5Freeway lost control and it went down an embankment, landing upside down. The driver was able to get out, but the CHP closed off the area because downed wires were wrapped around the car.

But a driver on the 60 Freeway in Jurupa Valley died when his car spun out of control because of water on the road. The car

struck the rear of a fire engine that had been parked on the shoulder to block a different crash.

Lake Hughes Road, between Pine Canyon and Dry Gulch roads in Lake Hughes, was closed due to mud and debris on the roadway, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works reported. The department was asking the public to avoid the area and use alternate routes.

Flooding was reported in Pomona at the underpass at First Street, with several streets in the area closed or affected, the police department said.

The weather was causing some power outages as well. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power tweeted at 8:46 a.m. that crews were working to restore power to affected customers as quickly and safely as possible, while working in challenging conditions.

Rainfall totals in San Bernardino Mountains communities through about 3 p.m. ranged from about 21/2 to about 43/4 inches, the National Weather Service said. Mountain High, with an elevation of 7,500 feet, had received 4 inches of snow while Big Bear City, at 6,800 feet, received 2 to 4 inches of snow, the NWS said.

In Riverside County, the Idyllwild mountain community received about 1.15 inches of rain.

In Orange County, strong rain was reported in Coto de Caza, with 1.65 inches, 1.45 inches northwest of Yorba Linda, 1.18 inches in San Juan Capistrano and 3/4 of an inch in Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach, said

NWS meteorologist Elizabeth Shank. The 1.33 inches in Anaheim for the 24-hour period set a daily record.

The NWS said that in LosAngeles County, heavy showers could produce snow down to the 3,000 feet level. Snow accumulations of 2 inches were possible on the 5Freeway’s Grapevine area and the Antelope Valley foothills, meaning travel delays were likely into today.

Caltrans said chain control was in effect for several highways in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains. Chains or traction devices were required on vehicles except four wheel/all wheeldrive vehicles with snow tread on all four wheels. Even those vehicles must carry traction devices.