Results of Hilary felt on mountain

Hurricane Hilary promised rare weather. She arrived Sunday as a tropical storm and has departed.

Some of her highlights include 11.7 inches of rain falling on Mt. San Jacinto’s Peak. This was the largest amount of rain fall recorded in Southern California as of 5 a.m., Monday, Aug. 21.

Closer to Idyllwild, 7.8 inches were recorded at Snow Creek. This was the eighth largest rain volume dropped from Hilary.

Pine Cove and Stone Creek received about 3.3 inches, and Keenwild and Vista Grande were in the 2.5 inch range. Idyllwild Fire recorded 0.78 inches from early Sunday morning until early Monday morning.

Winds also were strong. Although the strongest wind was 84 mph on Black Mountain, they ranged from 40 mph on the Hill to 62 mph recorded at Rocky Point in Pine Cove.

Another weather record was set Sunday. The maximum temperature Sunday was 64 degrees in Idyllwild. This was the lowest recorded “high” temperature for that date since 67 degrees was recorded 40 years ago in 1983.

Locally, a tree came down on the Idyllwild School grounds during the storm and another on Middle Ridge Drive, taking out a power line. Idyllwild Community Center lost a pine tree at Town Hall and another pine at the amphitheater that took out a piece of fence and damaged the rail for the load-in ramp. Wind damage affected Miss Sunshine’s business in the plaza. “We had heavy winds and trees into some power lines but no major damage and no injuries,” said Idyllwild Fire Chief Mark LaMont.

The three local water districts were asked about damages. Fern Valley Water District General Manager Victor Jimenez said, “No storm damage to us, thankfully!” Idyllwild Water District Chief Financial Officer Hosny Shouman said a tree fell in the septic tank area but no major damage occurred.

Riverside County proclaimed a local emergency Monday because of Hilary. The proclamation will go before the supervisors at their next regularly scheduled board meeting Tuesday, Aug. 29 for ratification.

“This emergency proclamation could help make the county eligible for potential federal and state assistance, including repairs to damaged areas,” according to the news release. “It also allows the county to quickly procure items necessary for emergency response and repair.

“Responders from fire departments, law enforcement agencies, emergency management departments, public works agencies and flood control departments are currently assessing the damage caused by the Tropical Storm. Known damage at this point include a 911 outage in the Coachella Valley, flooding on the 10 Freeway, as well as in neighborhoods, business districts and roadways.”

Mt. San Jacinto State Park campgrounds are closed for safety concerns and will reopen when those concerns pass.

Eastbound Interstate 10 was closed at Haugen-Lehmann due to mudslides until around noon Monday. So was Highway 74 west of Cahuilla Way in Pinyon Monday with no easy way to reach the desert communities for some time. Highway 243 sustained damages and was reduced to one lane north of Pine Cove at Round Robin Drive on Monday.

While Hilary has passed, the National Weather Service on Monday forecast the possibility of monsoonal moisture arriving Thursday.

In advance of Hilary’s arrival, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a Proclamation of Emergency, which included Riverside County. He also ordered state agencies to prepare for emergencies.

The state deployed 7,500 personnel in Southern California — including 3,900 highway patrol officers and 2,000 Caltrans workers — to aid local communities, and it dispatched resources for swift water rescue teams in high-risk areas.

According to Newsom’s press release, the Emergency Medical Services Authority had assets on standby, including California Medical Assistance Teams to augment local capacity, aid in evacuations and support medical needs in communities with flooding.

The California National Guard prepositioned more than 350 soldiers and two dozen high water vehicles. Cal Fire prepositioned nine swift water rescue teams and urban search and rescue teams along with 290 engines.

Cal Office of Emergency Services, through the California Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid System, deployed a total of over 700 local government firefighters and support staff, as well as 15 swift water rescue teams, two urban search and rescue companies, and three regional urban search and rescue task forces.

And about 2,000 Caltrans maintenance personnel in the region were on 12-hour shifts, 24 hours a day. They installed pumps in flood-prone areas, such as Pacific Coast Highway/State Route 1 in Orange County, and monitored burn scars for potential mudslides, especially in northern Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties

Besides the deluge, a major earthquake occurred Saturday near Ojai. The 5.1 shake was felt throughout the SoCal area.

Becky Clark contributed to this story.