MORE STORMS BRING FLASH FLOODING TO LANDERS AREA SATURDAY

More flash flooding disrupted traffic in our Hi-Desert Saturday afternoon. A storm cell settled over Johnson Valley and Landers about 1 p.m. Saturday, before moving east onto the Marine base. Flash flooding was reported in several spots on Old Woman Springs Road between Linn Road and Reche Road. County Fire Captain Steve Lasiter said Linn Road was a river. The Yucca Mesa fire station spent two to three hours Saturday driving through the streets of Landers checking on homeowners and motorists. Lasiter said at least two homes near Montara Road and one on Linn Road suffered flood damage when the water rushed through the houses, and one of the homes may have been pushed off its foundation. A Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency water main broke near Dixie Mine Road and Old Woman Springs after the flash flood exposed it. A septic tank in the same area was also exposed and started leaking sewage into the home. Lasiter said at least four to five cars were stuck in the mud and debris left on Old Woman Springs. Lasiter said a swift-water rescue team was called out twice, but he added it wasn’t needed. Old Woman Springs Road was closed for several hours until CalTrans could clear the mud and debris off the highway; the CHP began running traffic escorts through the area just after 4 p.m., according to CHP incident logs. In Sunday’s news, ABC News included a clip of a car being pushed off the highway in Landers by the flash flood during a story about holiday weekend weather. A link to that video can be found with this story at KCDZFM.com. Captain Lasiter reminds motorists not to attempt to drive through water crossing the roadway; “Turn around, don’t drown.”