The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 24

LOS ANGELES TIMES A24 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26. 1997 tlf i fa wk. la -v 1 if HID III II IM-- IM LUISSINCO Lo Angela Time People huddle under umbrellas at a bus stop on Sunset Boulevard; although Los Angeles was spared the worst of the storm, the showers ended a dry spell that had lasted a record-shattering 219 days. NORA: Storm Fuels Waves, Floods Several Homes in Seal Beach Nora Soaks Southwest United States Sunday California 36 J. ImW.

Angelas San 33 DlegoT EnwAJajjl ARIZ. 27 Oi MEXICO 21 A Tuesday i 'Vt Monday 18 7 As Telma Fajardo pushes, a dog This color-enhanced infrared image taken by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite shows a wide swath of rain early Thursday. 1 1- 1 0 shares a ride in dry comfort in a Lo NeedleJN Angeles ti San Centro iyfl RICARDO DeARATANHA Los Angeles Times baby stroller along a Van Nuys street. alkMore Continued from Al of widespread devastation that the storm had wreaked on Mexico's Baja California while still a hurricane. The worst problems in the Los Angeles area apparently occurred in the Orange County community of Seal Beach, on the outer fringes of the storm.

Orange County officials said high tides boosted waves generated by Nora and a storm far to the north, sending breakers 20 feet tall crashing into beachfront homes in low-lying areas of the city. Three houses were seriously damaged and 45 others received minor damage as water gushed through garages and patios. Dave West, who lives on 12th Street, bolted out of bed at 4 a.m., thinking, at first, that an earth- quake had occurred. "I heard a rush of water and felt a pounding," West said. "I looked outside and the water was streaming across the street.

6 a.m. I had two feet of water in the hallway," West said. Sleepy residents and barefoot surfers scrambled to fill and stack sandbags, while bulldozers hastily constructed a sand berm that stretched for six blocks in front of the flooded area. Workers ferried sandbags by kayak to nervous residents. The long dry spell had allowed grease and oil residues to build up on Southern California's streets and freeways, and Nora's sprinkles turned the roadways into tropical skating rinks during the morning rush hour.

The California Highway Patrol said there were about 230 traffic accidents on Los Angeles-area freeways between 4 and 10 a.m. The rush-hour crush lasted almost until noon as commuters struggled to get around jackknifed trucks and multi-car pileups. In the northern part of the county, the first of three accidents involving semitrailer trucks occurred about 7 a.m. in the southbound lanes of the Golden State Freeway near the Antelope Valley Freeway junction. One of the trucks lost control in a tunnel and careened off both walls, said Doug Sweeney of the CHP.

A car and a van behind the truck tried to avoid it and also lost control, bouncing off the sides of the tunnel before coming to a halt. Each was then rear-ended by other large trucks. One person suffered minor injuries, and the lanes were closed until noon, Sweeney said. As those lanes were opening, however, another truck lost control in the northbound truck lanes of the freeway, spilling 300 gallons of diesel fuel, Sweeney said. The truck lanes were expected to be closed until 8 p.m.

as Caltrans crews cleaned up the spill. In a third accident, the southbound' over-crossing at the Antelope Valley Freeway and Angeles Forest Highway was shut down for about an hour after a truck there slid out of control, landing on its side. No injuries were reported. The Lbs Angeles Fire Department dispatched rescue crews just before 9 a.m. after it was reported that a person possibly a child-was floating down a wash near Kittridge Street and Wilbur Avenue.

It turned out to be a false alarm, but department spokesman Jim Wells seized on the report as an opportunity to warn parents to keep their children away from flood control channels. "Parents should remind their children now to stay away from running water," Wells said. "It's not a playground." Residents of Yuma, where the storm entered the United States, had prepared for the worst, piling up more than 75,000 sandbags to divert what many had predicted would be a devastating flood. School was canceled, city employees were put on emergency alert, and residents in 240 homes in the farm community of Somerton, near Iho border, were Thursday rainfall totals MATT MOODY Los Angeles Times FREE first incoming on every call Use Pacific Bell Pure throughout the state Hurry! Offer ends September 30th IIP Saturday evacuated to a Red Cross shelter. The flooding came, but it was confined mostly to streets and low-lying vacant lots.

By mid-afternoon, the sky had brightened, the rain had stopped, and workers were able to rest. "I think we're going to surviye," said Roger Brooks, an official with the citycounty emergency response team. "We've been preparing for the worst, but the worst didn't happen." The same sense of relief was evident in California's nearby Imperial Valley; Streets were flooded, 35,000 sandbags were deployed, and minor structural damage was reported in Heber, Seeley and Salton City, but Nora was not as wicked as predicted. However, agricultural officials in Imperial County, which provides a large share of the nation's winter produce, estimated that the storm did $4 million in crop damage, mostly to lettuce, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. That damage could increase if mold sets in, the officials said.

The light rain, coming after the lengthy dry spell, led to "flash-overs" that briefly knocked out electrical service to about 40,000 customers in the city and 85,000 in surrounding communities, according to officials with the Department of Water and Power and the Southern California Edison Co. Most of the outages in the city occurred near downtown, Hollywood, North Hollywood and Lincoln Heights. Most customers had power restored within a few hours, officials said. Health officials issued a rainy -day warning for Los Angeles County's beaches, advising people to stay out of the water for the next three days. Officials said that each time it rains in the Los Angeles area, several billion gallons of polluted urban runoff flow down storm drains and into the sea.

Because of the long dry spell, more pollutants than usual have accumulated, county health officials said. In Ventura County, swells generate by Nora sent waves crashing over the breakwater protecting Ventura Harbor. Forecasters said Nora should dwindle into extinction over the Arizona desert early today. Skies in Southern California are expected to clear today, with high temperatures in the Los Angeles area ranging from the low 80s to the low 90s. Times staff writers Michael G.

Wagner and Janet Wilson In Orange County and Jose Cardenas in the San Fernando Valley and Times correspondent Richard Warchol In Ventura County contributed to this story. Malnic reported from Los Angeles and Perry from San Diego. We've extended these special deals, but only until September 30th. And this Pacific Bell Pure Digital PCS isn't with the Smart Chip'M. And the only one with superior clarity, reliability, and security.

For as low as $19.95 per month, you can manage your communications with free caller ID, free first incoming minute and an answering machine and pager all in one. Just ask for the only one with the Smart Chip. Today is a good day to do just that. Gvl Pacific Bell im Pure Digital PCS" Call 1-888-I-LIKE-PCS no additional cost through 123197- FREE built-in pager and answering machine all-in-one FREE Caller ID, call waiting.call hold and conference calling No long-term contracts Digitally encrypted for privacy and cloning prevention minute Digital PCS of California at ROBINSONS OfficeMax' P( Otter subieti to th-inge without emiiuc Romuiiini ipply 'Aiinme ttwrgrs tor nwwgr rrtriewl jpply. Scnkf nd price pUn Suncr.

just any mobile phone. It's the only mobile phone the good tK.itvjted by ') Long Ji-unte iMrurgcd 411 Vrvuev A IVitu Iclevi t.ompanv. MAY I'hutei ind tarter Plu otter mpirrv 8M'8 Serviif nuiM rligibihry vubtet-i to 1 red it tpprovil. I Pim Bell Mobile CIRCUIT CITY hi wmisn mm utnmar See rtuiler trtrdcuib or utl 1-8X8 -I I IKK Miditiurul I St per mmuft jjjjs 4-.