SoCal Storm Slams Encino on First Day of Spring

A late-winter storm that struck Encino on the first day of spring caused flooding, downed trees and electrical outages.

The National Weather Service issued a severe wind advisory and flash flood warning Sunday for the San Fernando Valley and Southern California, which has now expired.

Debris flows caused one local family to evacuate their home on the 4500 block of N. White Oak Place Monday morning. The occupants of the home were relocated due to mud against the residence, LAFD spokesman Erik Scott said. There were no injuries and no other homes were threatened.

“The home was yellow tagged and backyard is still red tagged,” LAFD’s John Marasco told Encino Patch. “Building and Safety will be back to monitor [the home] on Wednesday when the rain stops.”

A yellow-tagged home means residents can return, but with caution, according to Marasco.

A National Weather Service advisory said, "Most of the heavy shower activity has moved the east of Los Angeles County" and the flood advisory would be allowed to expire.

Winds were recorded up to 75 miles per hour Sunday and power was reported to have flickered on and off in parts of Encino and Sherman Oaks.

The weather report for Monday, according to Weatherbug.com, is more rain, heavy at times, with a slight chance of thunderstorms. It will also be windy with lows in the upper 30s to mid 40s, southeast winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 45 mph becoming southwest 15 to 25 mph after midnight.

Encino Patch reported that firefighters said the Los Angeles River was running heavily enough for engineers to begin . That forced the routine wet-weather closure of both Burbank Boulevard between Encino and Van Nuys, and Woodley Avenue near Lake Balboa.

Nearly 60,000 Southland homes and businesses lost power, ABC7 reported, and there were 100 reports of downed trees, according to Chatsworth Patch.

The wind advisory issued by the National Weather Service Sunday was in effect until midnight, and the flash flood warning was in effect until 9 p.m. No major bulletins in regard to weather-related injuries or accidents in the Encino area were reported by the LAPD or LAFD.

The City News Service contributed to this report.