Tropical Storm Hilary moved through Orange County early Sunday, spurring landslide fears in burn areas and flooding concerns along the coast.
Beaches, libraries and state parks were among some of the closures throughout the county this past weekend, though many residents still visited places like Doheny State Beach on Sunday, wanting to experience a once-in-a-lifetime event.
At nearby Dana Point Harbor, many families gathered to watch the waterfall that always shows up during heavy rainfall along Dana Point Harbor Drive.
“We had to get the kids out of the house to do something, so we’re here to check out the waterfall and let them run a little bit,” said Kyle Miller.
Schools at Anaheim Union School District and Anaheim Elementary School District were closed Monday along with Cal State Fullerton.
Credit: MAXIMO SANTANA, Voice of OC
Further down by the beach, many surfers gathered to experience uniquely strong waves.
“They’re deceiving because when you’re looking from shore, they look normal, but once you’re out on the wave, if you see the people standing on them (the people are) very small in comparison,” said Kel Riley about the waves at Doheny State Beach.
Riley also said the waves were deceptively dangerous due to the volume in the wave and the strength the waves had due to the tropical storm.
More inland by Silverado Canyon, tropical storm conditions took on a different tone with signs placed along the roads warning people to evacuate and to watch for flash floods.
County officials issued a voluntary evacuation order on Sunday for Orange County canyon areas like Silverado and Williams Canyon in the Bond Fire burn area due to debris flows around areas that burned.
That order was lifted early Monday.
“Effective Monday, August 21 at 5 am all evacuation orders have been lifted for Silverado Canyon and Williams Canyon in the Bond Fire burn area,” read a Monday news release.
On Sunday, OC Sheriff deputies and highway patrol officers were also positioned along Santiago Canyon Road to keep everyone but residents out.
One Sheriff’s deputy positioned in front of the entrance to Modjeska Canyon said late Sunday afternoon, that there wasn’t much flooding at the time but deputies were positioned there just to make sure only the residents could enter and to be ready to help if something were to happen.
County public works officials warned residents to be careful around flood channels and creeks across Orange County, which now have a lot of fast moving water and can be life threatening.
OC Public Works crews were also busy out in the canyons.
Tropical storms are rare in California because the low water temperatures of our coast don’t allow the storms to keep their momentum. However this year, the ocean has been slightly warmer than usual due to the effects of El Niño, which allowed Tropical Storm Hilary to make it this far.
Hilary began as a hurricane in Baja California, but was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it hit Orange County Sunday.
“Hilary is moving toward the north near 23 mph (37 km/h) and the storm is expected to accelerate even more as it moves north-northwestward to northward during the next day or so. On the forecast track, the center of Hilary will move across southern California in the next few hours,” reported the National Hurricane Center in their Sunday, 2 p.m. report.
Local authorities continue to put residents on watch, as so much rain in a short period could prompt mudslides and flash floods.
Cities like Irvine and Santa Ana said no significant damages were reported as of Sunday night.
“A Flood Watch remains in effect for Southern Region through Monday. A Tropical Storm Warning is now in effect for all of Orange County,” stated a Sunday advisory sent out by Orange County Emergency Operations Center.
On Saturday, before the landfall, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a State of Emergency for Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Tulare, and Ventura Counties.
The last time Southern California saw a tropical storm was in 1939.
Here’s more shots of Orange County during the first day of Tropical Storm Hilary:
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