Californians warned of floods, electricity shortages

Storm dumps heavy rain, snow January 11, 2001 Web posted at: 10:35 a.m. EST (1535 GMT)

In this story:

Stage Two power alert

More than 7 inches of rain

Stranded on Alcatraz

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LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Much of California is under a coastal flood warning Thursday from a Pacific storm that drenched the southern part of the state with up to 7 inches of rain as it moved inland.

Thousands of people lost electricity as high winds toppled trees and power lines. Up to 20 inches of snow is expected on higher ground in California, Nevada, Arizona and southern Utah. (Click here for National Weather Service advisories).

WINTER WEATHER Find out how it can be 38 degrees and snowing, prepare your home and car for the cold and know how winter can affect your health. Stage Two power alert With the storm expected to cause electricity use to climb, California power officials declared a Stage Two power alert Thursday, asking residents to conserve electricity.

At the same time, the Diablo Canyon Nuclear generating station has scaled back its power generation because high surf caused sea kelp to clog intake valves.

Officials with the California Independent System Operator (ISO), which operates most of the state's power grid, say the State Two alert will be in effect until midnight. The alert means grid operators have less than a 5 percent reserve of power.

The ISO may call on some businesses to cut back power usage Thursday evening during the peak hours of 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

More than 7 inches of rain As far south as San Diego, coastal residents and emergency crews stacked sandbags to protect homes and businesses from flooding.

Los Angeles fire spokesman Brian Humphrey told CNN that there have been "roughly 200 flooding-type incidents, mostly affecting single-family homes." He reported no deaths or serious injuries because of the storm.

This car crash in Malibu on Wednesday was one of numerous traffic accidents in Southern California caused by rainy conditions Forecasters warned that surf as high as 20 feet, along with high tides, could bring danger on Thursday and Friday. "You have to go back three years to the winter when El Nino hit to find a storm of this magnitude," National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Moede said. "This is a very powerful storm."

Downtown Los Angeles has received more than 3 inches of rain, but the hardest-hit areas appear to be just north of the city. As of Thursday morning, more than 7 inches of rain has fallen in Santa Paula, in Ventura County, while Santa Barbara has received more than 4 inches.

Violent surf pounded the shoreline in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.

Rain-slicked freeways made car travel miserable and slow. The California Highway Patrol reported numerous fender-benders throughout the Los Angeles area.

Strong wind gusts toppled power lines. About 5,800 residents were without electricity, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Outages were also reported in Santa Monica and Whittier, where more than 2,300 households temporarily lost power.

Stranded on Alcatraz In San Francisco, some 240 tourists were stranded for more than three hours Wednesday on Alcatraz Island, where a surge of waves mangled the dock and gangplank that connects the former prison rock to visiting boats.

A choppy San Francisco Bay churned and tossed a gangplank from a tour boat onto a floating dock around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Rich Weideman, a spokesman for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

When the tide receded around 3 p.m., another boat managed to rig a temporary gangplank and rescue the stranded tourists. No injuries were reported.

http://www.cnn.com/virtual/editions/europe/2000/roof/change.pop/frameset.exclude.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 11, 2001

Answers

Correct URL for above. Something else got in there.

http://www.cnn.com/2001/WEATHER/01/11/california.storms.03/index.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 11, 2001.