STORMS BRING FLASH FLOODS, POWER OUTAGES, ROAD CLOSURES

Flash flooding on Tuesday forced the closure of a two-mile stretch of Highway 62 in Twentynine Palms. Caltrans closed the 62 from Godwin Road to Highway 95 just west of the Arizona state line. The road was closed until early Wednesday morning. “There was a lot of mud debris across the roadway that we had to clean up,” said Caltrans spokeswoman Terri Kasinga. The thunderstorms also cause sporadic power outages in areas of the Morongo Basin. The hardest hit was the Wonder Valley area and Amboy road East of Twentynine Palms with 1.3 inches of rain reported falling in less than an hour. Morongo Valley also experienced a significant amount of rainfall. Juniper Road was closed briefly between Paradise and Senillis due to 6 inches of water crossing the road.