Rain Forecast but No Mudslides

A storm system approaching from the Pacific is expected to drop up to 1 1/2 inches of rain today along the Ventura County coast but is unlikely to create any major mudslides, experts said.

However, rain-soaked ground is suspected of causing a 30-foot oak tree to crash down on power lines in Ojai’s Libbey Park on Tuesday afternoon, causing an outage that affected about 1,800 customers in the area. Power to about 200 residents was restored by 7 p.m., but it is unclear when the remaining customers would emerge from the darkness, authorities said.

Rain has loosened the roots of several oak trees in the Ojai Valley recently, said Capt. Bruce Mandel of the Ventura County Fire Department.

Ventura County residents can expect scattered showers today and daytime temperatures in the 50s and 60s until Thursday, when the storm begins moving out of Southern California, said meteorologist Curtis Brack of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times. “It looks like there will be a slow warmup into the weekend, but not a whole lot,” Brack said. “You’ll start seeing a little sunshine.”

Hydrologists and flood-control experts, in the meantime, have been monitoring the La Conchita area, which suffered a huge mudslide two years ago and smaller slides during last winter’s storms. Sheriff’s deputies and a geologist have been watching the area since October.

There is a higher risk of mudslides on hills after 10 inches of rain, said Dolores Taylor, county engineer and former county hydrologist. The La Conchita area has now received 11.57 inches since Oct. 1, but the new precipitation “should be light enough that it shouldn’t cause any problems,” Taylor said.

For Ventura County farmers, the continuing rains have delayed their schedules, making it difficult to harvest produce, such as lemons, avocados and strawberries.

“When it’s raining, we can’t get into the orchards. The access to the roads is too muddy,” said Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau. “But it’s not a large-scale problem.”

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County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures from the Ventura County Flood Control Department for the 24-hour period ending at 5 p.m. Tuesday . Oct. 1 is the beginning of the official rain year.

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Rainfall Rainfall Normal rainfall Location last 24 hours since Oct. 1 to date Camarillo 0.04 9.37 5.67 Casitas Dam 0.08 18.30 9.52 Casitas Rec. Center 0.16 17.28 9.59 Fillmore 0.08 14.22 7.94 Matilija Dam 0.08 20.77 10.46 Moorpark 0.04 10.13 6.01 Ojai 0.08 14.75 8.41 Upper Ojai 0.12 18.19 8.97 Oxnard 0.04 9.44 5.79 Piru 0.00 10.86 6.88 Port Hueneme 0.04 8.34 5.75 Santa Paula 0.04 13.24 7.23 Simi Valley 0.04 10.00 5.73 Thousand Oaks 0.04 10.35 6.14 Ventura Govt. Center 0.00 11.15 6.42

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