Rains Drench Southland, Snarl Traffic

The biggest storm so far this rainy season hit Southern California on Monday, wreaking the usual havoc on the highways and foothills, especially in Malibu, where residents cast a watchful eye on the denuded hillsides.

The cold rain fell at a rate of about a quarter-inch an hour throughout the afternoon, forcing road closures in the San Fernando Valley and Malibu. By rush hour Monday, accidents on rain-slick freeways had turned several Los Angeles County interchanges into virtual parking lots.

As early as 1 p.m., less than two hours after rain began to fall, the California Highway Patrol had reported five major collisions on Los Angeles County freeways, including several jackknifed big-rig trucks and vehicles sliding off the slippery roads. By 5 p.m., a dozen SigAlerts had been reported.

“It’s a mess,” said CHP Officer Shirley Gaines. “We’re telling people to slow down and take their time.”

The quick-moving storm hit from southern Oregon to the Mexican border, with the strongest rains falling in Southern and Central California. The National Weather Service issued flash flood watches for burn areas in Los Angeles and Ventura counties through today.

As of 4 p.m., 0.78 of an inch of rain had fallen at the Civic Center and 1.53 inches had fallen in Ventura, with more rain forecast for today.. Snow levels were expected to drop to 4,000 feet in Northern California and 6,000 feet in the southern Sierra Nevada by late Monday.

“The entire state will be seeing scattered showers and periods of rain and snow at the higher elevations” through today, said Curtis Brack of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times. “It’s probably going to lighten up somewhat [today] but it’s still going to be cloudy and generally rainy across the state.”

Brack blamed the bad weather on a huge cold front over the eastern Pacific that stretched from the Gulf of Alaska to Hawaii.

Steady rain triggered minor rock falls and flooding on the charred slopes overlooking Malibu, where an October wildfire burned more than 13,000 acres. Officials closed Malibu Canyon Road because of falling rocks at 4 p.m.

Although Malibu city officials said it would take several days of heavy rain to saturate the soil and trigger mudslides, they warned residents to sandbag their property and avoid driving on roads through the community’s rocky canyons.

“We don’t really expect significant mudflow,” said John Clement, Malibu’s director of Public Works. “But in my three years in Malibu, I’ve learned not to be surprised what new mountain is going to fall next.”

By Monday afternoon, trucks fitted with bulldozer blades were clearing rocks from canyon roads and local fire stations were distributing hundreds of sandbags. Malibu city officials warned that there was little they could do, however, to prevent major mudslides if the rain continues for several days.

After the firestorms of 1993, Malibu received emergency funding to brace for mudslides the next winter. No such measures will be taken this winter because federal authorities told the city they will not pay for them, officials said.

Among the small number of Malibu residents who were sandbagging their homes was Sharon Barovsky, who lives on Malibu Road. Barovsky stuffed damp copies of old newspapers between the cracks of burlap sandbags, looking up at a muddy hillside that loomed over her home, which faces the blustery Pacific Ocean.

“We didn’t want to wait,” said Barovsky, 56, pointing to the brown trickle of mud that was already seeping through her wall of sandbags. “I’m one of those compulsive people who thinks she can stem the tides of nature.”

In the San Fernando Valley, rising water in the Sepulveda Dam flood control basin forced police to close streets in and around the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area shortly after 3 p.m.

Burbank Boulevard was closed to traffic between Sepulveda Boulevard and Hayvenhurst Avenue, and Woodley Avenue was closed between Victory and Burbank boulevards.

“It’s not going to be pretty out there during rush hour today,” said Mimi Martin, an LAPD traffic supervisor. “But we can’t let cars drive through there. They’ll drown.”

In Orange County, traffic was snarled and accidents were plentiful, especially on the Riverside Freeway, although there were no rain-related closures.

Many of the accidents involved cars that had gone too fast for the wet conditions and skidded off the road, said CHP spokeswoman Michelle DiMaggio. “Someone hits their brakes and spins out and goes over the side.”

Times staff writers David Haldane and Josh Meyer and correspondents Steve Ryfle and Scott Steepleton contributed to this story.