Amid Misery, a Sense of Purpose

The powerful rains that flooded roads and damaged houses brought death and injury to Orange County last week. They also brought tales of neighbor helping neighbor and a stranger saving an infant.

Orange County emergency workers deserve thanks for preparing for El Nino and helping others get ready.

Capt. Scott Brown of the Orange County Fire Authority said the threats of heavy rain and the actual downpours prompted “a newfound cooperative spirit between emergency response agencies.” It would be good to have that sort of cooperation outlast the rainy season. County residents would be the beneficiaries.

Homeowners also helped minimize damage by heeding warnings and performing such simple tasks as cleaning out roof gutters and storm drains, letting rain run off into catch basins and other areas where it can be controlled more easily.

The director of the Orange County Storm Operations Center, Bill Reiter, said the warnings of the most powerful El Nino in years put him on the road before the rains, talking to public works directors and residents to explain what was in store. Reiter said police departments also made sure they kept in touch with his center.

Reiter and others acknowledged that preparations only can accomplish so much. That was demonstrated graphically last week in Holy Jim Canyon, one of the more remote reaches of Orange County. Emergency officials provided helicopters for residents who wanted to leave. The canyon can be a dangerous place when mudslides occur. It is an area without electricity or phones, with just one dirt road, which can wash out in heavy rain.

In Laguna Beach, Glenn Flook helped others in his neighborhood get out of their homes and to safety but was killed when a mudslide slammed into a house. Elsewhere in the city, a stranger spotted 9-month-old Tiffany Sarabia in mud where she had been thrown when storm waters separated her family. He rescued the infant and gave her to neighbors of the Sarabias. The girl suffered only minor cuts and bruises.

Such heroism has been seen before in Orange County, in fires and rainstorms, as friends, neighbors and strangers rise to the occasion. It’s an impressive demonstration of the ties that bind communities together.