Relentless Rain Turns Roads Into Rivers, Leaving Motorists Stranded For Hours In California
Clean-up crews were taking advantage of the sunny, dry weather in California on Wednesday after a soggy start to the year resulted in destructive flooding and mudslides across the state. As the relentless rain from an atmospheric river overwhelmed the drought-stricken state on Monday and Tuesday, roads turned into rivers, and many motorists were left stranded on the highway for over 20 hours.
In Santa Barbara County, creeks that typically run under Highway 101 became swollen, raging rivers that sent mud and debris flowing over the freeway. As the mud covered the highway, drivers were forced onto sideroads or off-ramps, and officials had to close part of the highway.
Martin Becerra, a Santa Maria resident, was driving his family back home from the airport when they became stranded on the closed highway.
“The freeway was shut down, and we got stuck right here, and we’ve been here since four o’clock [Monday],” Becerra told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell on Tuesday. “We [are] kind of tired, but we know we’re not the only ones. There [are] thousands of people the same as us.”
Just like the Becerra family, Jeff Hessenlnk, a tractor-trailer driver from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was also affected by the closure of the highway while on his way to Los Angeles to pick up produce.
“It was fine until I got to Santa Barbara, and the water was coming across the road,” Hessenlnk told Wadell.
He said the highway closure due to the flooding made him stop driving, which is something he’s only done twice in his 29 years of trucking.
As the clouds and rain started to clear Tuesday afternoon, crews were able to start removing the caked-on mud from the highway. Becerra and his family could finally continue their trip home after being stranded for over 20 hours. And Hessenlnk was able to continue his route to Los Angeles.
Highway 101 wasn’t the only road that endured damage from the storm. A flooded road in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Chatsworth opened up a 15-foot sinkhole, which swallowed two vehicles. The two occupants of a pickup truck were able to climb out of the sinkhole. Two others, a woman and a young girl, in another vehicle were rescued by about 50 firefighters who used a high-angle rope and an aerial ladder.
And there’s more to come. About 5 million people are under flood watches Wednesday as yet another atmospheric river is bringing more rain to California.
“The state has been experiencing drought for the last four years, and now we have storm upon storm,” California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis said Wednesday according to CNN.
“We’ve had six storms in the last two weeks. This is the kind of weather you would get in a year, and we compressed it just into two weeks.”
The flood watches Wednesday are primarily in Northern and Central California, including Sacramento, the North Bay and Redding. That barely leaves enough time for residents in flood-ravaged neighborhoods to assess the devastation before the next storm.
In Visalia, California, which is a city about 166 miles north of Los Angeles, the northbound side of Highway 99 had to be closed for a period of time after a large tree fell on the highway on Tuesday.
“The tree hit a motorcycle and a pickup, killing both drivers,” KMPH reported.
According to the news source, three other vehicles were involved in the crash, but only minor injuries were reported. While not explicitly stated, the super-saturated ground was likely the cause of why the tree went toppling onto the roadway.
The intense flooding and heavy rain led to evacuation orders for several communities in Santa Barbara County. By Tuesday afternoon, all evacuation and shelter-in-place orders had been canceled.
With more rain in the forecast for the Golden State, many residents worry another round of widespread flooding and road closures will follow.
Theresa Lomeli, a Santa Barbara resident, told Wadell that although the rain is needed in the drought-stricken state, she wishes the city was better prepared for the onslaught of water.
“I wish that the city would do something about the streets that get affected like this,” Lomeli said. “Better preparation and better solutions for our streets that overflow and our rivers that overflow.”
Lomeli said she and other residents know just how powerful the water can be. Monday’s extreme flooding occurred on the five-year anniversary of the deadly Montecito mudslides that claimed the lives of 23 people and left hundreds of homes damaged.
“It really worries us a lot because we’ve lost lives in the past,” said Lomeli.
Additional reporting by AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell.
Produced in association with AccuWeather.
The Western Journal has not reviewed this story prior to publication. Therefore, it may not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.
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