Update: 745 pm
County Battalion Chief Scott Tuttle says there may be be a fatality after a car drove around the barricades at the Yucca Mesa Wash at Barron and was carried away by the water. He told Z107.7 news that the water is still too deep and fast for rescuers to get to the vehicle and confirm the fatality. Another rescue at Paradise Valley area of Yucca Valley, also at Barron, resulted when another vehicle drove around the wash. The Sheriff’s helicopter was used to rescue the occupants.
Z107.7 Managing Editor Tami Roleff just drove up the Morongo Grade and reports water on the road in Morongo Valley has subsided and the highway is passable.
The National Weather service says the rain will start tapering off at about 8:00 tonight but water from the earlier rain will still fill the washes and low spots on State route 62.
TURN AROUND..DON’T DROWN!!!
6:15 pm
Here are the latest road conditions in the Morongo Basin as a second band of storms move through the region. According to Sheriff’s Sgt. Henke, The Sheriff’s Swift Water Rescue Team is currently working on rescuing the occupants of two vehicles that drove around the barriers at the wash North of State Route 62 on Yucca Mesa. One of the cars that drove around the vehicle was flipped over by the water and deputies are working to free the occupants now. Those barriers are there for a reason TURN AROUND, DON’T DROWN! Water is also pooling in low areas in Morongo Valley, Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree. Reduce speeds to avoid hydroplaning.
The National Weather service has issued a flash flood warning until 10:15 PM
Yucca Mesa is closed at Barron
Kickapoo and State Route 62 is flooded
State Route 247 at Pipe’s canyon is impassable
State Route 247 at Sunnyslope is flooded
Pioneertown Road is closed at Water Canyon wash
The wash on Sunburst in Joshua Tree, North of the highway, is full and Sunburst is closed
The National Weather service says the rain will start tapering off at about 8:00 tonight but water from the earlier rain will still fill the washes and low spots on State route 62.
