Hal Eisner's Blog

Tuesday night: It was muggy and, in a part of Barstow and Victorville it was downright wet! A storm cell came through. The rain fell fast. In Texas, we always called those kinds of downpours "gullywashers".

It happens so fast you hardly have time to realize what's hit you. But, what's  happened has left you in a heap of trouble.

There's water rising .. debris flowing ... you need help!

It happened to me once in Houston. Tuesday night, in Barstow, it happened to two guys in a Chrysler New Yorker and 5 people in a minivan. Rescue workers were called in. A fight was on the rescue all 7 of those people in the two locations.

Its scary and downright dangerous. In Victorville, where streets turned into little muddy rivers but no one was trapped, CHP Public Information Officer Jeff Perez told me when you see water starting to build, slow down. When you think your in trouble ... call for help.

As one CHP dispatcher in Barstow told me "the desert isn't designed for rain." For instance, you don't have the same drainage systems we have in L.A. 

People have been hurt, in some cases killed in flash floods. I will tell you, from firsthand experience, getting caught in a flash flood is something you'll never forget.