Marathon May Be Spared : Southland Soaked; More Rain on Way

Light to moderate rain pelted Southern California on Saturday, marking the start of a series of showers expected to last through most of the week.

The 7,500 runners who entered this morning’s inaugural Los Angeles Marathon, however, and the 10,000 people police are expecting to line the course, may be spared from getting doused. Partly cloudy skies and only a 30% chance of showers are expected this morning, with the odds of rain increasing through the day to about 80% tonight.

For the rest of the week, periodic showers are expected, with temperatures in the 50s and 60s. The National Weather Service cautioned that fire-damaged areas of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties could be vulnerable to mud slides if the rain is heavy.

In Orange County, Santa Ana reported .69 of inch of rain, the county’s highest total. Along the coast, Newport Beach received .30 of an inch.

The amount of rain falling elsewhere in Southern California ranged Saturday from more than an inch at the Los Angeles Civic Center and in the mountains to only about .25 of an inch along the beaches. The Civic Center has had 13.15 inches of rain since the current rainy season began last June, compared to 11.43 inches last season. The high temperature Saturday at the Civic Center was 62 degrees, two degrees above the low.

Factor in Traffic Accident

Heavy rain was considered a contributing factor in a traffic accident at 1 p.m. on the Ventura Freeway near Westlake Village in which 10 people were injured, two of them critically, the California Highway Patrol reported. Another accident occurred at the scene when a car collided with a fire truck parked in the northbound lanes, injuring two firefighters and the car’s driver.

Elsewhere in California, the major rain-related problems occurred in Anderson, near Redding in Shasta County, where about 500 people fled their homes when an irrigation channel gave way. No one was hurt, authorities said.

And California 120 leading into Yosemite National Park was closed until further notice because of flooding and storm damage, authorities said.