Rains hit Newport-Mesa

A few manhole covers floated away. At least a dozen motorists got stranded in high waters on the south side of Costa Mesa and had to be towed out. And a tree fell on top of a house in Corona del Mar — all courtesy of Monday’s rainstorm, which is expected to worsen throughout the week, officials said.

The series of Pacific Coast storms, forecast to last until Friday, is expected to dump as many as 8 inches of rain along Orange County’s coastal areas, creating treacherous conditions for small boats, unruly waves for surfers and turning a simple walk along the beach into an “at-your-own-risk” adventure.

The National Weather Service on Monday issued a flash-flood watch and wind advisory. And a high surf advisory was to go into effect early today, putting lifeguards on heightened alert in Newport Beach, said Jim Turner, lifeguard battalion chief for the Newport Beach Fire Department. Strong riptides, powerful swells and 8- to 10-foot-high surf are just a few of the hazardous conditions people can expect today through Friday, Turner said.

And yet the weather did little to dampen the spirits of some hard-core surfers Monday, as 3-foot waves rolled in every three to four seconds. Usually, the sets come in every eight to 10 seconds, Turner said.

“There were some hardy souls out there, braving the elements, walking to the end of Newport Pier,” Turner said. “A couple of surfers started at 24th Street but wound up near the rocks on 28th Street and decided to call it the day. That’s how strong the east-west current was.”

Josh Van Egmond, lifeguard captain for the Newport Beach Fire Department, said a few kite boarders showed up for a little fun, but the current proved too strong.

“When things go sideways, things really go sideways,” he said. “I think they got in a little over their heads.”

The heavy rains over the course of the next four days could also cause mudslides in recent burn areas, and winds are expected to reach as high as 35 mph, according to the National Weather Service. A few mishaps occurred around the Newport-Mesa region as a result of the storm.

A truck overturned at the 405 Freeway and Harbor Boulevard, and the driver was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. No details of the accident or the severity of the injury were available. Also, a eucalyptus tree went down on the southbound lane of Irvine Avenue, hitting a pickup and a car, and a person inside the car was injured and had to be taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, said Jennifer Schulz, spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Fire Department. In the 200 block of Heliotrope Street in Corona del Mar, a pine tree fell on a house, but nobody inside the house was injured, Schulz said.

Lt. Mark Manley, a watch commander with the Costa Mesa Police Department, said the south end of Costa Mesa suffered the heaviest flooding, particularly in the vicinity of 17th Street and Pomona Avenue and Newport and Harbor boulevards.

“There were a few manhole covers that floated away, and we had to go get them and put them back,” he said. “We’re just trying to keep a cork in it.”