Among the many residents stuck by the closure of the highway in Morongo Valley was our own Managing Editor Tami Roleff, who had responded to the mudslides and power pole failure only to find herself waiting along with hundreds of others…
The sound from the river of mud in the ditch of the Morongo Grade was nearly deafening. You had to shout to be heard. A friend and I returning home to the Morongo Basin saw the raging river rushing down the eastbound side of the Morongo Grade and had to stop and marvel at its power. Little did we know we’d be stuck in Morongo Valley for the next three hours. The flash flooding started in Morongo Valley about 5:30 Sunday evening. The raging water carried debris, such as branches, rocks, and mud. So much water flooded the highway in Morongo Valley that a driver who tried to drive through the torrent crossing the road at North Start stalled and then became stuck in mud two feet deep. CHP asked the Morongo Valley Fire Department to shut down the highway and there we sat for hours, trapped, waiting first for the flood waters to subside, and then for CalTrans to arrive and start clearing the highway. Finally, about 9 p.m., eastbound traffic was escorted up the grade. Westbound traffic had to wait another hour or two before being allowed to proceed. I always wondered what people did who had to wait out highway closures, and now I know. You sit and wait. If you’re me, you vow to never again leave home without your car charger for your phone.
