Marathon May Be Spared : Southland Soaked; More Rain on Way

Light to moderate rain pelted Southern California on Saturday, marking the start of a series of showers expected to last through most of the week.

The 7,500 runners who entered this morning’s inaugural Los Angeles Marathon, however, and the 10,000 people police are expecting to line the course, may be spared from getting doused. Partly cloudy skies and only a 30% chance of showers are expected this morning, with the odds of rain increasing through the day to about 80% tonight.

For the rest of the week, periodic showers are expected, with temperatures in the 50s and 60s. The National Weather Service cautioned that fire-damaged areas of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties could be vulnerable to mud slides if the rain is heavy.

In San Diego County, the amount of rain falling from the storm ranged Saturday from .26 of an inch at Lindbergh Field to nearly .50 in mountain areas.

Lindbergh Field has had 9.93 inches of rain since the rainy season began July 1, compared to 9.01 inches during the same period last year. The high temperature Saturday at Lindbergh Field was 65 degrees.

Factor in Traffic Accident

Rain-slick roads may have caused the car of a 28-year-old Poway man to cross a center divider on Poway Road and hit an on-coming vehicle, killing the man, identified as David S. Andersen. Anderson was driving east on Poway Road, just west of Iola Way, when he crossed the median into the path of a westbound vehicle, a deputy coroner said.

The two occupants of the westbound vehicle were flown by Life Flight to Palomar Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition, San Diego police reported. Their identities were not released.

Elsewhere in California, the major rain-related problems occurred in Anderson, near Redding in Shasta County, where about 500 people fled their homes when an irrigation channel gave way. No one was hurt, authorities said.

And California 120 leading into Yosemite National Park was closed until further notice because of flooding and storm damage, authorities said. All campgrounds in the park were closed because more wet weather was forecast.