Rain plagues roads

Nearly four-fifths of an inch of rain fell on Southern California Friday, and while failing to cause flash floods or prompt evacuations in the Newport-Mesa community, the downpour kept emergency workers busy responding to traffic accidents and other concerns.

Newport Beach experienced an abrupt jump in traffic accidents, said Police Sgt. Jeff Brouwer, noting that it was “pretty much non-stop” for several hours during the height of the storm Monday.

“There have been well over 10 in the past hour, easily,” he said at noon Friday.

Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Marty Carver reported a number of “minor traffic collisions here or there,” but that his city was “relatively quiet.”

“There have been some minor fender-benders, but that’s to be expected,” he said.

Some minor flooding and accidents outside of Newport-Mesa — including a five-car pileup on the Euclid Street exit on I-405 — caused many headaches among local commuters, with some spending long hours on the freeway.

California Highway Patrol Spokeswoman Officer Katrina Lundgren said that her office had responded to “at least” triple the amount of calls on a normally dry day.

“We have run the gamut today — many fender-benders, many overturned cars today, some big rigs, a small big rig punched through a center divider, lots of guardrail damage,” she said. “It’s been one of our busiest days in months.”

Lundgren reported no fatalities or serious injuries as a result of the accidents.

While mudslides and evacuations were seen in low-lying canyon areas — especially those affected by recent wildfires such as Santiago Canyon — the Newport-Mesa area is, so far, not immediately affected by the threat.

“A lot of the danger is because of the fire damage, and luckily, we didn’t have the fires right here in this area,” she said. “So, we’re pretty lucky.”

No discernible effects were seen at John Wayne Airport either, where spokeswoman Jenny Wedge said the storm failed to affect departure times.

“There was a flight or two that were delayed going north to Las Vegas,” she said, “but that was pretty much it.”

Following the storm, county health officials recommend that residents stay away from bodies of water for at least 72 hours after the rainfall because run-off increases bacteria.

“Typically what happens is that all of the debris — animal droppings, waste, trash, you name it — gets washed into the storm drain system. All of that ends up traveling to the beach,” said Larry Honeybourne, county Public Health Services Spokesman. Surfers should be wary until an all-clear is announced, he added.

CHRIS CAESAR may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at chris.caesar@latimes.com.