Rains flood Fallbrook B-3
Winds blow trees down C-10
Soccer pro visits FHS D-3
Village News Fallbrook & Bonsall
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January 26, 2017
Man dies in Rainbow Creek, young boy feared dead
D e L u z , R a i n b ow , C a m p P e ndl e t o n , Pa l a ,
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Volume 21, Issue 4
Cleaning up after the rains
Tom Ferrall Staff Writer
As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25 (deadline for this story), a search was continuing for a 5-yearold boy believed to have been swept into a storm-swollen creek in Rainbow on the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 22 along with a man who was found dead in the creek. At deadline for this article, authorities had not yet released the name of the man nor the missing child. However, relatives of the child identified him to news crews as preschooler Phillip Campbell of Fallbrook. They said he was with a close family friend, Roland Phillips, 73, when the car they were in was apparently swept into the overflowing Rainbow Creek. At approximately 4:30 p.m. that very rainy and windy Sunday, a 911 caller reported seeing what appeared to be a child being washed away by the rushing flood waters off the 4800 block of Fifth Street near Old Highway 395, according to Sheriff’s officials. Sheriff ’s Deputies from the Vista Station and Fallbrook Substation responded along with the North County Fire Protection District and a swift water rescue team. They found an adult body but dangerous conditions – high rapidly running water – prevented them from immediately pulling the victim to shore. The male victim was retrieved early Monday morning.
see FEARED, page A-4
thisweek
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The east end of Alvarado Road at Live Oak Park Road is closed as county road crews work on repairing a sink hole that developed the evening of Jan. 22.
Lucette Moramarco photo
Lucette Moramarco Staff Writer Locally, over a six-day period (Jan. 18 – 23), wind and rain caused flooded roads, fallen trees, a sink hole and a few power outages. A flash flood watch was issued more than once between Friday, Jan. 20 and Monday, Jan. 23 for the entire county due to periods of heavy rainfall. In the 48-hour period ending at 7 a.m. Monday, Jan. 23, top rainfall amounts recorded around the county were 6.19 inches on Palomar Mountain; 4.42 in De Luz; 3.71 in Rainbow; 2.79 in Fallbrook, and 2.75 on Camp Pendleton, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Considering that the average rainfall for January in this area is around three inches, storm-related damage was not unexpected. In the six-day period ending about 4 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24, according to the NWS, the storms dropped 5.83 inches in Fallbrook; 6.15 inches in Bonsall, 7.17 inches in Rainbow; and 6.07 inches at Camp Pendleton. The day before, Jan. 23, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for most of the state due to the tens of millions of dollars in damage caused by the powerful storms. Besides San Diego County, his proclamation also covered 49 of California’s 57 other counties. The showers were forecasted to end by Tuesday night, Jan. 24, leaving area residents with the task of cleaning up their yards, and the inside of a some homes. At least one house was flooded with mud when a clogged storm drain overflowed on La Canada Road off of South Mission, on Friday, Jan. 20.
Property management worker Jose Rios, clears mud from the gutters along Los Padres Dr. in Shane Gibson photo the Pala Mesa Fairway Villas community after a flood of mud and debris inundated the community Jan 20. The storm drains along Los Padres Dr. also clogged up and overflowed after the storm on Jan. 20, flooding the street and the Pala Mesa Fairway Villas community pool. On Jan. 23, the CHP reported a road closure at East Alvarado and Live Oak Park Road due to a sinkhole that opened up there the night before. The sinkhole was first reported at 7:21 p.m. on Jan. 22, and a CHP unit was sent out to block the road so no one could fall into the hole. CHP changed the area’s designation from Traffic Hazard to Closure of road at 11:04 p.m. A road crew was still working on repairing the damage as of Jan. 24. According to the CHP, there
were numerous road closures from De Luz to Bonsall and Pala to Fallbrook. Bonsall schools were closed Monday, Jan. 23 due to the weather. On Jan. 20, the Public Safety Group with the County of San Diego sent out word that San Diego County residents experiencing significant damage to their homes or businesses are requested to report it to the County Office of Emergency Services online: www. sdcountyrecovery.com/damagesresulting-from-disaster. By completing this form, residents will be assisting the county in collecting damage information and associated costs with the series of winter storms moving through the area. Compiling total costs
throughout the county will assist local governments in determining whether county might qualify for state or federal disaster recovery assistance. They warned that completing the form is not a guarantee of any assistance. Because Fallbrook and the surrounding communities are unincorporated, maintenance of roads is the responsibility of the county. If residents notice any road-related issues such as potholes, cracks, damaged or missing signs, trash, graffiti or clogged storm drains, they can call the county Dept. of Public Works at (877) 684-8000 or go online to www.sandiegocounty.gov/dpw/ roads/maintroad.html to report the problem.
Goals for 2017 discussed at Fallbrook Rainbow joins CSCDA rather than a voting action. Joe Naiman Community Forum meeting
Village News
Tom Ferrall Staff Writer
The first Fallbrook Community Forum meeting of the New Year was held Jan. 19 and the topic was goals for 2017. Members of several non-profit organizations spoke of their aspirations. Vince Ross, who conducts the forum meetings, started things off by relaying the No. 1 goal of the Fallbrook Village Association, an organization he founded more than two decades ago. “It’s called the ‘Library Plaza Project,’” said Ross of a plan to get more use out of the parking area between the Fallbrook Library and the Fallbrook Art Center. “In short, the goal is to use the parking lot for both parking and special events.
We definitely need more of them (special events) and we definitely need more foot traffic downtown.” Ross said the property is privately owned, and that all nine owners are on board with the idea. “These people are working together to try to do something there that would help them,” said Ross. “We need funding for lighting and electrical improvements and pedestrian access. We’re going to have to get county approval and changes of other ordinances. Our goal is to have something every week.” Ross said the plan is based on a successful model in Oceanside, the Sunset Market. Ross added
see GOALS, page A-8
Village News Correspondent
The Rainbow Municipal Water District board approved the entry of Rainbow into the California Statewide Communities Development Authority (CSCDA). Rainbow’s board voted 3-1 Dec. 6, with Helene Brazier in opposition and Rich Bigley absent, to join the joint powers agency. R a i n b o w ’s p a r t i c i p a t i o n in the CSCDA will allow the planned Horse Creek Ridge project to utilize a Community Facilities District (CFD) to provide tax-exempt financing for the development’s water and wastewater infrastructure improvements. A presentation at the Jan. 24 meeting on the possibility of a CFD was an information item
“Probably we’ll be going over with the board this month to agree to form a CFD for some of their infrastructure costs,” said Rainbow general manager Tom Kennedy. The Dec. 6 action only approved entry into the CSCDA and did not involve an agreement with D.R. Horton, which owns the Horse Creek Ridge property, to create a Community Facilities District although a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the district and the developer is likely. “We’ll be bringing back some additional MOUs,” Kennedy said. What is now called the Horse Creek Ridge development was at
see CSCDA, page A-6