Soggy ending to 2004
Thousand Oaks residents wet, but safe

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers UMBRELLA COVERAGE-Thousand Oaks resident Lisa Ross doesn't seem to mind the wet weather as she crosses the parking lot at The Promenade shopping center Monday.

By Michelle Knight

knight@theacorn.com

An intense storm moved through the area earlier this week causing traffic accidents and power outages—and a very close call for one local resident—but no major injuries or property damage, officials said.

Locally, seven inches of rain fell on Tuesday alone, said Betty-Jeanne Farmer, a rainfall reporting volunteer for the Los Angeles County Flood Control District.

"We’ve seen weeks like this, but usually in February, our wettest month," Farmer said.

The rainy season, which officially began on Oct. 1, already has dumped 14.74 inches in the Conejo Valley/Las Virgenes area, according to records.

The latest storm produced power outages for more than 10,000 Southern California Edison customers in the greater Thousand Oaks area Monday. Crews worked around the clock and restored electricity to about 8,000 customers the next day, said Ernie Villegas, a regional manager with Southern California Edison.

In Agoura Hills, power to traffic signals on Kanan Road north of the 101 Freeway was restored after being out for several hours.

During the early hours of the storm—from Monday evening to Tuesday morning—the California Highway Patrol received more than 70 calls, according to Steve Reid of the CHP.

"Officers responded to accident call, after accident call, after accident call," Reid said. "The message we want to give is slow down . . . and give yourself extra time."

Calabasas resident Gary Smith received a major scare while traveling to work on Tuesday morning. Smith came to a section of Stokes Canyon Road in Calabasas that was under a steady stream of water, and gambled that he could make it across in his car.

"I underestimated the force of the water," said Smith, who tried to drive through the flood water. The current tossed his 1990 Geo Storm upside down into a ravine next to the road. Smith was stuck in his vehicle for about 15 minutes as he watched the water level rise. The raging flow of water forced Smith’s car downstream and it was so strong it nearly ripped off his clothes.

"I almost drowned," he said.

Smith managed to escape the vehicle and yelled for help. A nearby resident found him and called paramedics. Smith was scared but okay.

In Simi Valley, a small mudslide swept down on the construction site of the new Town Center shopping mall on Monday, but the area experienced little else.

City officials from Calabasas to Moorpark said they took precautions to avert major flooding and property damage by quickly dispatching work crews to clear storm drains and remove downed trees and branches.

The inclement weather affected local businesses––some better and others worse. While the owner of a furniture accessory store in Westlake Village said sales were slow, just the opposite was true for a carpet restoration business in Simi Valley. Among the businesses most adversely affected were, to no surprise, car washes.

Lutheran Social Services in Thousand Oaks, which helps low-income residents and the homeless, was busier than usual because of the rain. The number of people using drop-in services (such as food bank referrals, job-seeking and housing services) increased during the storm, said program director Chris Poynter,.

Stuart Seto, a spokesman for the National Weather Service, said on Wednesday that the worst is over. Although sporadic showers are expected through Sunday, they won’t match the furious downpours of earlier this week, he said.

Staff writer Michael Picarella contributed to this story.