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01-08-2005, 06:10 PM
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- As many as 200 vehicles got stuck in deep snow early Saturday in the San Bernardino Mountains as the latest in a series of storms struck California.
Snow piled up 3 to 4 feet deep along a 15-mile stretch of state highway between the Snow Valley ski resort and Big Bear dam, said Tracey Martinez, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County fire department.
"People were panicking and calling 911 on their cell phones," Martinez said. "It's going to take us awhile to get all the folks out of there."
No injuries were reported as rescue crews used tracked vehicles to pick up the snowbound motorists in the mountains about 90 miles east of Los Angeles.
In the East, heavy rain and snow that fell earlier in the week caused flooding along the Ohio River that was chasing some residents out of their homes in communities in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.
Meteorologists predicted the river would reach its highest level in eight years in Louisville, Kentucky.
The stormy weather had caused widespread power outages in parts of Ohio, and utilities said about 100,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity on Saturday.
Some neighborhoods below California's San Bernardino Mountains recorded more than a half-inch of rain every hour, and homeowners rushed to pile sandbags.
"I used to love the rain," said Dallas Branscone of San Bernardino County's Devore area. "Now, I dread all these storms."
Elsewhere in the state, as much as 6 feet of snow was possible during the weekend in the northern Sierra Nevada, delighting skiers.
California's latest storm arrived Thursday and wasn't expected to let up until Monday, the National Weather Service said.
The wild weather knocked out power for thousands of homes and businesses and blocked mountain roads. One person died in a sailboat smashed by wind and waves and two resort workers in the Sierra were found dead in a snow-covered car.
Homeowners were especially concerned in San Bernardino County foothill towns that were devastated by wildfires and mudslides in 2003.
"You can only do so much," said Thom Master of Devore. "If 2 feet of mud comes, these little sandbags aren't going to do much."
Along the Ohio River, hundreds of Ohio and West Virginia residents had evacuated their homes and stacked sandbags.
The river was nearly 4 feet above flood stage and still rising Saturday morning at Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and was about 7 feet above flood stage but beginning to recede at Marietta, Ohio, the National Weather Service said. Downstream, it was expected to crest Tuesday at slightly more than 5 feet above at Cincinnati, the weather service said.
Water was 2 to 4 feet deep Saturday in the streets of downtown Marietta, closing businesses.
Louisville had already closed part of its River Road and installed two of its flood gates, and the Caesars Indiana riverboat casino in Harrison County, Indiana, was shut down.
The expected 28-foot crest at Louisville, 5 feet over flood stage, would be the highest since the March 1997 flood.
People who live along the Ohio learn to cope with its floods.
"The first thing I do before I go is clean the fireplace," said Sherry Welch of Juniper Beach, Kentucky, who had friends helping her pack furniture into a truck Friday. "If you don't do that, water will come in and leave a ring all around the inside of your house like a great big ring around a bathtub."
"One year I had to move three times," she said as water lapped at the edge of her patio.
Snow piled up 3 to 4 feet deep along a 15-mile stretch of state highway between the Snow Valley ski resort and Big Bear dam, said Tracey Martinez, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County fire department.
"People were panicking and calling 911 on their cell phones," Martinez said. "It's going to take us awhile to get all the folks out of there."
No injuries were reported as rescue crews used tracked vehicles to pick up the snowbound motorists in the mountains about 90 miles east of Los Angeles.
In the East, heavy rain and snow that fell earlier in the week caused flooding along the Ohio River that was chasing some residents out of their homes in communities in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.
Meteorologists predicted the river would reach its highest level in eight years in Louisville, Kentucky.
The stormy weather had caused widespread power outages in parts of Ohio, and utilities said about 100,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity on Saturday.
Some neighborhoods below California's San Bernardino Mountains recorded more than a half-inch of rain every hour, and homeowners rushed to pile sandbags.
"I used to love the rain," said Dallas Branscone of San Bernardino County's Devore area. "Now, I dread all these storms."
Elsewhere in the state, as much as 6 feet of snow was possible during the weekend in the northern Sierra Nevada, delighting skiers.
California's latest storm arrived Thursday and wasn't expected to let up until Monday, the National Weather Service said.
The wild weather knocked out power for thousands of homes and businesses and blocked mountain roads. One person died in a sailboat smashed by wind and waves and two resort workers in the Sierra were found dead in a snow-covered car.
Homeowners were especially concerned in San Bernardino County foothill towns that were devastated by wildfires and mudslides in 2003.
"You can only do so much," said Thom Master of Devore. "If 2 feet of mud comes, these little sandbags aren't going to do much."
Along the Ohio River, hundreds of Ohio and West Virginia residents had evacuated their homes and stacked sandbags.
The river was nearly 4 feet above flood stage and still rising Saturday morning at Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and was about 7 feet above flood stage but beginning to recede at Marietta, Ohio, the National Weather Service said. Downstream, it was expected to crest Tuesday at slightly more than 5 feet above at Cincinnati, the weather service said.
Water was 2 to 4 feet deep Saturday in the streets of downtown Marietta, closing businesses.
Louisville had already closed part of its River Road and installed two of its flood gates, and the Caesars Indiana riverboat casino in Harrison County, Indiana, was shut down.
The expected 28-foot crest at Louisville, 5 feet over flood stage, would be the highest since the March 1997 flood.
People who live along the Ohio learn to cope with its floods.
"The first thing I do before I go is clean the fireplace," said Sherry Welch of Juniper Beach, Kentucky, who had friends helping her pack furniture into a truck Friday. "If you don't do that, water will come in and leave a ring all around the inside of your house like a great big ring around a bathtub."
"One year I had to move three times," she said as water lapped at the edge of her patio.