INLAND EMPIRE – (INT) – The inland region is getting a break between storms after an introduction to what Mother Nature might have in store this winter.

Evacuation orders in the Holy Fire burn area were lifted Friday.

Thursday’s storm lived up to predictions of locally heavy rain, flooded streets, mud and debris flows and the first mountain snow of the season. A multitude of traffic accidents were attributed to the rain as drivers got reacquainted with the slippery conditions.

Chains requirements were slapped on some mountain highways. Route 2 is closed until Monday in the San Gabriel Mountains between Highway 39 to just west of Wrightwood. Big Bear measured about 4-inches of snow.

Streets and highways in the recent wildfire zones took the biggest hit.

Rock, dirt and mudslides clogged Route 38 from Mountain Home Village to Forest Falls and closed Valley of the Falls Drive.

In Riverside County, a similar situation shut down a portion of the Ortega Highway near the Orange County line where the Holy Fire denuded mountainsides last summer. At lower elevations, it was touch-n-go Thursday as mud, rocks and debris rushed down usually dry washes and onto some streets between Lake Elsinore and Temescal Canyon. Mud 2-feet deep oozed into a garage. In Rice Canyon, the crew of a National Guard vehicle rescued an elderly man.

In spite of evacuations and the consequences of the first storm of the season, there were no reported injuries or major property damage in the Inland Empire.

Forecasters are now focused on another storm coming the middle of the week.

Story Date: December 4, 2018