Calif. Flash Floods Leave One Dead, Extreme Heat Persists

Sept. 09--Southern California should brace itself for another day of high heat, powerful thunderstorms and flash floods after violent weather left one man dead Tuesday in a flash flood, the National Weather Service said.

The victim was swept away during a sudden, heavy downpour in Forest Falls, the San Bernardino County Fire Department said. His body was found in Mill Creek Wash.

Rain dropped at a rate of at least an inch an hour, said National Weather Service forecaster Miguel Miller.

"It's a downpour. It's a cloudburst. Big drops, a whole lot of 'em," Miller said. "It's running across impermeable surfaces and not even soaking into the permeable surfaces. It's piling up in places it can't drain."

Along with Tuesday's fatality, huge swaths of Riverside and San Bernardino counties were affected by the extreme weather. Lightning strikes hit power poles in the Antelope Valley in northern Los Angeles County, knocking out power to thousands of customers and sparking a brush fire as temperatures approached triple digits.

In Victorville, cars were swept away and one man was hoisted out of fast-moving runoff. Big Bear Valley Road was buried in 5 feet of water, the National Weather Service said.

The extreme weather is likely to reappear Wednesday and Thursday, Miller said.

"All the ingredients are there for a repeat of yesterday," he said Wednesday.

In areas not slammed with rain, people baked in 90- and 100-degree heat with little wind and high humidity.

"Temperatures will be high enough to create possibe health risks" for the young and old, the weather service said.

Those vulnerable to the heat should stay indoors, drink plenty of water and wear light clothing. For residents in areas where thunderstorms are expected to hit -- the high desert, mountains and the Inland Empire -- people should remain indoors if a flash flood warning is issued, forecasters say.

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