I guess most of you heard about the pounding we took out here in the last week. Something like seven or eight inches of rain. That's a new record for here! We had mud and rock slides, flooding, and even a few lightening strikes. Believe me, sunny California has been anything but sunny!
Some of you in other parts of the country are probably saying, "What a bunch of wusses. We get that kind of weather all the time."
Well, that's my point. California is simply neither prepared, nor used to that kind of weather, and certainly not for an entire week. I had so many leaks in my roof I was running out of pots! On Friday, I'll be up on my roof with the Blackjack (roofing tar). My poor brother had it even worse. His living room ceiling collapsed. I just got a little wet with no serious damage. Many people around here actually lost their homes due to serious flooding, and mud and rock slides. Some had their cars carried away by flood waters. With most of them, it was their own stupid fault. I mean it shouldn't take a genius to realise that when the water is above the door of an 8 cylinder 4 X 4 pickup, you don't cross that road. But noooo! Some moron right here in San Bernardino in a Ford F250 4 X 4 did just that. Even with four wheel drive he didn't make it. The rescue squad had to get him out, and shortly after his truck just started drifting away with the mud and water. I hope he was insured, the idiot.
Maybe that's not a fair statement. Like I said, Californians just aren't used to this sort of thing. Being originally from New Hampshire, I know how to drive in harsh weather, while native Californians don't. Well, the guy in the F250 knows better now!
San Bernardino County was one of the hardest hit areas. A state of emergency exists here, and several other areas including Los Angeles, Riverside, and Orange Counties. The damage is estimated at nearly $100 million and is expected to rise. Right here in San Bernardino County we're already up to $20 million ourselves.
Up in Kern County just north of LA county, 25 homes were destroyed when truck-sized boulders rolled down from the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and plowed right into them. Just imagine being asleep in bed when a boulder the size of the one that almost crushed Harrison Ford in 'Raiders Of The lost Ark' comes crashing through your bedroom! Yikes!
All of So. Cal. is in a bad way right now, and more rain is forecast for Saturday night, and more for next Wednesday. It'll be a merry, but wet Christmas for us all this year. I hope Santa has rain gear!
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