SANTEE COUNCIL AFFIRMS BAN ON MARIJUANA SHOPS

By Mike Allen

January 18, 2016 (Santee)--Santee’s City Council has voted to amend an earlier ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, adding the explicit prohibition of cultivating and delivering weed within the city.

The city already prohibited the sale of weed dating to 2009, and has never allowed the activity, but a recent slate of regulations adopted by the state and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in October has prompted many cities to pass additional laws ensuring that the cities maintain local control.

The vote on Jan. 13 was 5-0, although one council member said the city should take another look at the issue especially in light of the money the city is spending to enforce the ban.

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LOCAL RESERVOIR AND CALIFORNIA SNOWPACK LEVELS STARTING TO INCREASE

News

By Brigitte Garcia

January 18, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - El Niño has brought flooding since it has arrived in California this winter, but now those heavy rains may finally be doing something to help us. The snowpack is higher than it has been in years, and reservoir levels in San Diego County are looking better than they have in the last four years of drought.

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MASSIVE METHANE LEAK FORCED THOUSANDS TO EVACUATE; GAS SPREADING ACROSS SAN FERNANDO VALLEY; WELLHEAD IS AT RISK OF EXPLOSIVE BLOWOUT

Leak at So Cal Gas facility exposes nationwide problem of aging gas infrastructure at hundreds of sites

By Miriam Raftery January 17, 2016 (Los Angeles)&mdash;The news sounds like the plot of a disaster thriller movie, but it&rsquo;s real. The worst environmental disaster since the BP oil spill, a methane gas leak that began Oct. 23 at a storage well in Aliso Canyon in northern Los Angeles has pumped over <a href="https://www.edf.org/climate/embed-aliso-canyon-methane-counter?utm_source=methane-counter&utm_campaign=edf_meth_upd_dmt&utm_medium=referral&utm_id=1450382041">85,000 metric tons</a> of methane into the air. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, each day of the leak spews as much climate pollutant into the air as 4.5 million to 9 million cars. The leak at the site operated by Southern California Gas (a Sempra Energy company that also supplies San Diego&rsquo;s gas) is endangering health and safety of residents as well as contaminating the environment and pumping a powerful climate pollutant into the atmosphere. But it may soon get a lot worse. A Los Angeles Times <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-aliso-well-hole-20160115-story.html">investigation</a> reveals that efforts to plug the leak by drilling relief wells has been halted&mdash;after a backwash from those efforts caused a crater 80 feet long, 30 feet wide and 25 feet deep, leaving the wellhead itself exposed and now at risk of a catastrophic blowout. Access to control valves have been cut off by the crater. The consequences of a blowout sparking an explosive fire with highly flammable methane across miles of suburban communities is chilling.<img alt="&lt;--break-&gt;" class="wysiwyg-break drupal-content" src="/sites/all/modules/wysiwyg/plugins/break/images/spacer.gif" title="&lt;--break--&gt;" width="1" height="1" /> &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a mega-leak,&rdquo; one of the biggest ever recorded,&rdquo; Timothy O&rsquo;Conner, oil and gas director for the Environmental Defense Fund in California has stated. &ldquo;The plume is about 1,000 feet high and several miles long.&rdquo; Methane has 94 times more climate warming power than carbon dioxide, and EDF has warned that even a small methane leak &ldquo;greatly accelerates the rate of climactic change.&rdquo; A single spark near the highly flammable methane plume could ignite a massive explosion and fire. The risk is so great that cell phones and watches are banned from the site&mdash;and a fix, best case scenario, is still weeks away. Sempra Energy reportedly told the Times it &ldquo;would not speculate&rdquo; on current conditions at the site. But physical sciences professor Gene Nelson of Cuesta College told the Times, &ldquo;If the wellhead fails, the thing is just going to be full blast.&rdquo; Racing against time, the utility has proposed to capture about half of the still-leaking gas and burn it off. But now the California Public Utilities Commission has called a halt to that plan for now, unless fire officials and regulatory officials can agree it&rsquo;s safe. Regulators, no doubt mindful of the deadly San Bruno natural gas explosion that leveled a city block, have noted that burning the gas could potentially cause a catastrophic explosion and fire. The leak has slowed 60 percent since its inception nearly three months ago, but the amount of methane still spewing forth remains alarming for residents, environmentalists and public health officials. <img alt="" src="/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/2016/January/PorterRanchStopLeaks.png?8" style="width: 375px; height: 178px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; margin: 6px; float: right;" width="375" height="178" />10,000 residents of nearby Porter Ranch have evacuated and been forced to relocated. But new test results consulted by Massachusetts-based consultants in recent days week found high levels of methane in Northridge, Granada Hills and Chatsworth. In some cases, levels ranged from double to an astounding 67 times higher than normal, <a href="https://ecowatch.com/2016/01/15/porter-ranch-methane-leak-spreads/">ECO Watch reported</a> on January 15th. Northridge, it&rsquo;s worth noting, is where the devastating 6.7 earthquake was centered in 1994. Should a major earthquake or brush fire occur in the vicinity of the worst methane leak in world history, the scale of the damage could be unthinkable. The methane contamination has spread &ldquo;all the way across&rdquo; the San Fernando Valley, Gas Safety&rsquo;s Bob Ackley, one of the consultants who took measurements, stated. Residents in these communities, like the displaced Porter Ranch residents, have complained of illness including vomiting, headaches, nose bleeds, eye irritation and breathing problems, but thus far So Cal Gas has not responded to residents&rsquo; pleas for relocation outside of Porter Ranch. Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander has urged So Cal Gas to relocate his constituents in these areas. Two schools have been shut down, many businesses and property values impacted, and now L.A. Supervisor Michael Antonovich has said he will ask Supervisors on Tuesday to halt new residential developments slated in much of the northern San Fernando Valley. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just like in hell,&rdquo; Matt Pakucko, co-founder of the citizens group Save Porter Ranch, stated in an interview with Amy Goodman on the <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/14/as_california_methane_leak_displaces_thousands">Democracy Now!</a> Radio show. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what&rsquo;s going to happen day to day. I don&rsquo;t know if I can work. I don&rsquo;t know if I can breathe. When I feel sick, am I getting a cold or am I like dying from this crap?&rdquo; He added that bills are stacking up, unpaid, due to missing work because of the crisis. Governor Jerry Brown declared a state emergency on January 6 due to the Aliso Canyon/Porter Ranch gas leak. But many contend that&rsquo;s too little, too late. Some cynically note that Brown&rsquo;s sister, Kathleen Brown, is a director on Sempra Energy&rsquo;s board. California&#39;s Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein have both <a href="http://www.dailynews.com/environment-and-nature/20160113/boxer-feinstein-call-for-federal-assistance-with-porter-ranch-gas-leak">asked for federal help</a> to halt the devastasting leak. Michael Conley with Scientific Aviation conducted research flights over the leak in early November, calculating that about a million kilograms of methane were being released per day. He told ECM, &ldquo;During my first flights, the readings were so high I was concerned that my instruments were roken. To put this in perspective, this is nearly one quarter of the methane emissions for the entire State of California, just from this one leak.&rdquo; He praised the State for having a pre-existing contract with his rapid respone team that enabled the specially outfitted planes to conduct prompt measurements with equipment not available to ground crews&mdash;planes that might have taken months to deploy if not for the contract in place with California&rsquo;s Energy Department. Besides methane, residents exposed to the methane leak face concerns about benzene, toluene and xylene that they could also be breathing in. Back in November, benzene, a compound known to cause blood cancer, was found to be leaking as well, the <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/2716445/mini-chernobyl-gas-leak-persists-in-porter-ranch-after-contentious-hearing/#Om1BzBeE7JV5Wp0R.99">Inquistr reported</a>. In addition, a substance added to the otherwise odorless gas is itself listed by the federal government has harmful to health, causing similar and potentially worse harm including neurological damage or even death at very high levels. Residents have held rallies and meetings with officials from the Governor on down. State health officials continue to insist that residents have not been exposed to toxic levels of pollutants, a seemingly implausible claim given the unprecedented high levels of methane and lack of measurements to assess other substances known to be dangerous that many experts say were likely also in the 85,000 metric tons of methane released across the region? <img alt="" src="/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/resize/2016/January/porterranchwells-400x291.png?452" style="width: 400px; height: 291px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; margin: 6px; float: left;" width="400" height="291" />But that&rsquo;s not all. There are many more gas wells in the Porter Ranch region and across the San Fernando Valley. Investigations of the leaking well near Porter Ranch revealed several other lesser leaks. Residents say they&rsquo;ve smelled gas for years and wonder how long they&rsquo;ve been exposed to potentially harmful substances, the Inquisitr reports. Residents are demanding that all wells be shut down permanently in their communities. (See @SavePorterRanch and #PorterRanchGasLeak). Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich calls the disaster &ldquo;a mini-Chernobyl.&rdquo; The gas field where the Porter Ranch catastrophe is occurring is the largest deposit west of the Mississippi. But it&rsquo;s a disaster that could play out in other communities across the U.S., since there are hundreds of oil and gas storage facilities across the U.S. Moreover, the Environmental Defense Fund&rsquo;s research has found that methane lakes are&rdquo;very&rdquo; common not only at big oil and gas facilities and oil fields, but &ldquo;even in neighborhoods&hellip;&rdquo; Why are so many leaks occurring &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a combination of oil and gas companies failing to monitor and maintain aging infrastructure and a lack of oversight of the oil and gas industry,&rdquo; EDF concludes. For too long, we have gone without federal and state standards that require sufficient leak and safety inspections for oil and gas facilities&hellip;.When leaks do occur, they may go unnoticed indefinitely, since methane is colorless and odorless.&rdquo; So what&rsquo;s the solution? Now a national movement is growing calling for stronger standards to require &ldquo;low-cost improvements, inspections and leak detection to prevent these types of problems in the future.&rdquo; The federal Environmental Protection Agency is finalizing the first-ever regulations of oil and gas methane emissions. But the bad news is those rules, if adopted, won&rsquo;t apply to facilities that already exist and are currently causing pollution and endangering the public. The rules would apply only to new facilities built in the future. The EDF has launched a petition asking the White House to adopt stronger rules. You can <a href="https://secure2.edf.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2729">sign the EDF petition here.</a> CREDO has started a separate petition asking Obama and the EPA for federal help to stop the worst methane leak in history.&rdquo; The <a href="http://act.credoaction.com/sign/porter_ranch?t=2&akid=16485.1481076.XHeT46">CREDO petition is located here</a>. So far, over 100,000 people have signed it. CREDO concludes, &ldquo;During the Gulf Oil Spill, President Obama said, &lsquo;the tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now.&rsquo; That was true then, and it is true now as Aliso Canyon continues its apocalyptic eruption.&rdquo;

By Miriam Raftery

January 17, 2016 (Los Angeles)—The news sounds like the plot of a disaster thriller movie, but it’s real. The worst environmental disaster since the BP oil spill, a methane gas leak that began Oct. 23 at a storage well in Aliso Canyon in northern Los Angeles has pumped over 85,000 metric tons of methane into the air. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, each day of the leak spews as much climate pollutant into the air as 4.5 million to 9 million cars.

The leak at the site operated by Southern California Gas (a Sempra Energy company that also supplies San Diego’s gas) is endangering health and safety of residents as well as contaminating the environment and pumping a powerful climate pollutant into the atmosphere. But it may soon get a lot worse.

A Los Angeles Times investigation reveals that efforts to plug the leak has been halted—after a backwash from those efforts caused a crater 80 feet long, 30 feet wide and 25 feet deep, leaving the wellhead itself exposed and now at risk of a catastrophic blowout. Access to control valves are cut off, documents revealed. Should a massive explosion and fire occur with a 10-mile-long plume of methane over suburban neighobrhoods, the scenario would be horrifying.

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OVER $31 MILLION AWARDED TO WATER PROJECTS IN SAN DIEGO REGION

13 projects will boost conservation, habitat, water recycling and more

Source: County Water Authority

January 17, 2016 (San Diego) -- The San Diego region has been awarded $31.1 million in grant money by the state Department of Water Resources for a variety of projects that will increase local water supplies, decrease water demands, improve water quality, manage storm water, restore habitat and enhance species.

The awards include several East County and inland region projects, notably expansion of Padre Dam’s advanced water treatment reclamation facility, a program to improve water quality in disadvantaged rural communities, habitat recovery at Sweetwater Reservoir, water-wise educational programs for Lemon Grove and Spring Valley schools, water capture and grey water reuse in the Chollas Creek/Encanto area, as well as rehabilitation of the San Diego River headwaters including removal of invasive plant species, feral pigs, unauthorized trails/campgrounds and restoration of sites.

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FIRE DISPLACES FAMILY OF FIVE, DOG DIES

East County News Service

January 16, 2016 (El Cajon) — Four children and an adult have been displaced by a house fire early this morning that left the family dog dead.

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EFFORTS LAUNCHED TO SAVE YOSEMITE’S LANDMARK NAMES FROM CORPORATE COPYRIGHT GRAB

By Miriam Raftery

January 16, 2016 (San Diego) – The National Park Service has announced it must change the names of some of its most iconic landmarks due to a copyright claim filed by Delaware North, the former park concessionaire. Items slated for name changes include the historic Ahwahnee Hotel and Wawona Hotel (both Native American names), as well as Curry Village, Yosemite Lodge and Badger Pass http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/article54736110.html).

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STATE MAY GIVE HELIX WATER USERS A BREAK ON CONSERVATION MANDATES

By Miriam Raftery

January 16, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – Ratepayers in the Helix Water district have been under a state mandate to reduce water use by 20% under the Governor’s orders imposed last year during the drought. But a new draft regulatory framework just released by the Staste Water Board would cut that to 12%, if approved.

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GET THEM WHILE THEY’RE HOT – SPAY/NEUTER COUPONS FOR PETS!

News

County News Service

January 16, 2016 (San Diego) -- Breeding season is underway and San Diego County Animal Services is offering spay/neuter discount coupons throughout the month of January to reduce the number of unwanted and homeless animals that typically arrive in the spring.

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NEARLY 2,000 FREE CHILD CAR SEATS AVAILABLE FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES

keep em safe program

County News Service; Photo via PhotoSpin

January 16, 2016 (San Diego) -- Safe. That is how the County wants children to be whenever they are riding in a car.

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STORM FREEZES, BREAKS TRANSMITTER FOR KNSJ: DONATIONS NEEDED FOR REPAIR

By Miriam Raftery

January 14, 2016 (Descanso) -- KNSJ Radio (89.1 FM Descanso) is off the air affter the station's transmitter on Mount Laguna froze and broke during last week's winter storm. The repair estimate is $1,500, said Martin Eder, founder of KNSJ, a public nonprofit radio station that serves East County and San Diego.

Donations are urgently needed to cover this unexpected major repair cost and may be made via PayPal, credit card or check at http://knsj.org/donate/.

The East County Magazine Show airs on KNSJ on Mondays and Fridays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. During the outage, which began last week, our radio show and others on the station can still be heard online by downloading the TuneIn App for your cell phone or by listening to the streaming audio online at http://knsj.org/knsjpopup.html.

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MOBILE HOME UTILITY PROGRAM BENEFITS PARK OWNERS AND RESIDENTS, BUT AT WHAT COST?

News

By Mike Allen

Photo: Barbara Kimbler, Shady Lane manager

January 14, 2016 (San Diego) -- A statewide utility upgrade program aimed at giving mobile home owners improved service and replacing old and defective gas pipelines and electric power lines benefits both park owners and tenants, but the considerable cost for the project, yet unknown, will be borne by the ratepayers of the eight investor-owned utilities participating in the program.

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SENIORS, CAREGIVERS INVITED TO STOP SCAMS EVENT

East County News Service

January 14, 2016 (San Diego) -- A special forum will be held in San Diego on February. 11 to educate seniors and caregivers on how to avoid financial scammers and other crooks.

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RAMS ARE GOING TO LOS ANGELES; CHARGERS HAVE OPTION TO JOIN THEM

By Liz Alper

January 13, 2016 (Houston, Tx.) - It's over.

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NEW LAWS TAKE EFFECT IN CALIFORNIA

By Miriam Raftery

January 12, 2016 (Sacramento) -- As we ring in the new year, a slew of new laws are taking effect in California that could affect you or your family, school, workplace, or business. Here are highlights from some of the 808 new laws signed by Governor Jerry Brown:

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DRIVER KILLED IN HIGH SPEED CRASH IN SPRING VALLEY

East County News Service

January 11, 2016 (Spring Valley) — A 30-year-old El Cajon woman lost control of the Honda Civic that she was driving westbound on State Route 94 at 2:35 p.m. today and crashed down an embankment at the State Route 125 junction, striking a tree. The driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, died at the scene.

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AIRPORTS AND COLLEGES BAN HOVERBOARDS OVER FIRE DANGER: HOW TO KNOW IF YOURS IS SAFE

hoverboards

By Brigitte Garcia

January 12, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) -- Hoverboards were among the hottest gifts of the holiday season, but if you received one this Christmas, you may be having more problems than fun. That’s because these futuristic products have been banned from college dorms, shopping malls, businesses, and other locations due to many hoverboards that have burst into flames.

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FINDING ROVER APP FINDS THREE DOGS IN NINE DAYS

News

By Miriam Raftery

January 11, 2016 (San Diego) -- County Animal Services was the first animal sheltering organization in the nation to partner with Finding Rover and the arrangement is again showing its worth.

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SUNDAY: HEAR INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED JOURNALIST GREG PALAST TO BENEFIT KNSJ

January 9, 2016 (San Diego)—Greg Palast, one of the most celebrated investigative journalists on the planet, is coming to San Diego for a fundraising meet and greet for KNSJ radio, the Network for Social Justice, on Sunday, January 10^th at 6 p.m. He’ll share results of his investigation into the “theft of the 2016 election and the billionaires behind it.”

The Chicago Tribune said of Palast, “What a journalist should be: a truth hound, undaunted by power.” San Diego news anchor Bree Walker called Palast “The best damn reporter in the USA. Period.” Britain’s Guardian called him “The most important journalism of our time.” Palast has broken front-page stories for BBC Television Newsnight, The Guardian, Nation Magazine, Rolling Stone and Harper's Magazine.

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PROPERTY TAX RELIEF FOR FLOOD VICTIMS

East County News Service

January 9, 2016 (San Diego)—San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/Clerk Ernie Dronenburg wishes to advise all property owners whose property was damaged or destroyed during the recent flooding that property tax relief is available. This tax relief program requires the reassessment of the property to reflect its damaged condition.

The reduced value will remain in effect until such time as the property is rebuilt or repaired. More importantly, after the property is rebuilt or repaired, the owners can retain their previous taxable value if the property is rebuilt in a like or similar manner. This means that the property tax assessment will not increase beyond what it was prior to the flooding.

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COURT RULES AGAINST ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP OVER SOITEC SOLAR PROJECT IN BOULEVARD

East County News Service

January 9, 2016 (Boulevard) – Efforts to block the massive Rugged Solar project in Boulevard appear to have hit a dead end. On December 11^th, Judge Wohlfeil confirmed his tentative ruling to dismiss a writ of mandate filed by Backcountry Against Dumps (BAD). The challenge claimed the project violated California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements on groundwater and fire issues, among others.

“BAD has chosen not to appeal based on a variety of issues and realities,” BAD founder Donna Tisdale told East County Magazine. Our attorney may never see the fee award ordered by Judge Wohlfeil, or a final decision could be strung out for years.”

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18 INCHES OF SNOW ON MT. LAGUNA

East County News SErvice

January 9, 2016 (Mt. Laguna) - The totals from this week's storm are now complete--and Mt. Laguna received a full foot and a half of snow.

If you're looking for a snow play day, today's a good option. However a new storm is due in this evening and early in the morning, though it will be lighter, dropping less than an inch of precipitation in most areas.

Click here to view snow and rainfall totals for areas across our region from the National Weather Service: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/getprod.php?wfo=sgx&sid=SGX&pil=RRM. To view more images from local HP Wren web cameras run by the University of California San Diego, such as the image at left, visit http://hpwren.ucsd.edu/cameras/.

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COUNTY ASKS ALL RESIDENTS TO REPORT STORM DAMAGE

East County News Service

January 8, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - If you have damage from this week’s storms, the County wants to hear from you. Even if you live in a city within the county, it’s important for the County to get a report on all damages countywide.

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OVER A FOOT OF SNOW ON MT.LAGUNA, RAINS DRENCH REGION

By Miriam Raftery

Photos: Above, Jim Pelley sent us photo of snow-covered Laguna Mountains, viewed from desert in Ocotillo

Below, Fox 5 TV tweeted image of news van on Mt. Laguna for a "San Diego snow day"

January 7, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – After four years of drought, when it rains, it pours! During the past 72 hours, the National Weather Service reports heavy snowfall in our local mountains including 12 to 15 inches on Mt. Laguna. In addition, many communities soaked up several inches of rain, topped by Mt. Woodson with nearly seven and a half inches.

Here are highlights on the snow and rainfall totals over the past three days.

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: A RIVER RAN THROUGH JAMUL—BUT HIGHWAY STAYED OPEN

Photo, left, by Jodie LaRosh, reposted with permission from the JAC

January 7, 2016 (Jamul) –Jodie LaRosh came upon this surreal scene this morning at 7 a.m. at State Route 94. At a dip in the road near Jamul Estates, rainfall had created a river flooding the road.

At 8:02 a.m., CHP asked for Caltrans to shut down the roadway. A t 8:27 CHP observed that “water is getting pretty deep” and again asked for a shutdown at Honey Springs and 94. But at 8:41 a.m., inexplicably, CHP posted, “SR 94 will remain open –there is a foot of water crossing from the creek.” Signs were posted to alert motorists.

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FLOODING AND MUDSLIDES WREAK HAVOC IN RURAL EAST COUNTY

By Miriam Raftery

Photo of Dehesa Elementary School courtesy of ECM news partner 10 News

January 7, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – Today’s storm has caused significant damage across East County including closure of Dehesa Elementary School and a mudslide that oozed into homes in Rancho San Diego.

Muddy floodwaters drenched the interior of classrooms at Dehesa Elementary, soaking electrical and computer equipment on floors. The school will remain closed until Monday for cleanup, 10 News reports.

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BARRY JANTZ NAMED CHAIR OF TAXPAYERS GROUP

By Miriam Raftery

January 7, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) -- Jamul resident Barry Jantz, CEO of the Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD), has been elected to serve as 2016-17 chair of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association (SDCTA) board of directors.

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NOT A TORNADO, BUT “MICROBURSTS” IN YESTERDAY’S STORM CAUSED PLENTY OF DAMAGE

San Diego weather

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: fallen tree Jan. 7 in La Jolla, courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

January 7, 2016 (San Diego ) – The tornado forecast to hit north-central San Diego County yesterday didn’t materialize. But “wet microbursts” did cause major wind damage.

Among the hardest hit communities was the Poway-Sabre Springs area, where damage was “consistent with 60 to 70 mile per hour straight-line winds,” says Alex Tardy, warning coordination meteorologist manager for the National Weather Service in San Diego. Thunderstorm microbursts can be as strong as 100 mph, he added. Surveys conducted thus far found:

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JAMUL AREA FLOODING AND ROAD CLOSURE

East County News Service

Jaunary 7, 2016 (Jamul) --Honey Springs Road will be shut down all night due to power lines downed by vehicle that struck a power pole this evening, while awaiting SDG&E repairs, the CHP website indicates. A SIG Alert has been issued.

Highway 94 had substantial flooding this afternoon, reaching 30 feet wide in places and up to two feet deep, by some estimates..

Ronnie Durfee sent in video including this still shot of the dip between Rancho Jamul and Melody Lane.

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MAJOR ROAD CLOSURES AND HAZARDS DUE TO SNOW, FLOODING, AND DEBRIS

January 7, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- Snow, debris flows and flloding from heavy rainfall are making the morning commute tough. Here are the latest updates on closures and hazards impacting Highway 94, Interstate 8 and other highways as well as major surface streeets across East County.

Snow on I-8 just east of Kitchen Creek – snow ploughs are working (CHP) Numerous accidents reported east of Pine Valley.
SR-94 closed both directions from Lyons Valley Rd. to Honey Springs due to flooding (Caltrans); CHP site indicates a “river” flowing 30-40 feet wide this a.m.
Sunrise Highway is open but you are required to carry chains. CHP is en route to check conditions on Highway 79 from I-8 to Julian.
Dehesa road from the school to willow glen has multiple mudslides and is a total mess. Willow glen is completely closed by the quarry, a reader reports
State Route 94 at Buckman Springs Rd., vehicle overturned (CHP)
I-8 east west of Fuerte, off-ramp sign fell down and is in slow lane, per CHP
Ramona: B St. closed from 10^th and at 11^th due to flooding (DPW). Also Magnolia dip is now closed at highway 78 and 500 feet north of Magnolia dip due to flooding in Ramona.
Spring Valley: Quarry Road from SR125 to Lakeview is closed due to flooding(DPW)

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SAN DIEGO RIVER EXPECTED TO REACH FLOOD STAGE TONIGHT

Flooding and boulders also block roadways in East County; snow impedes travel in mountains

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Ward Road in Mission Valley, courtesy of San Diego Lifeguards

January 6, 2016 (San Diego) – With yet another storm set to hit tonight, the San Diego River is expected to reach flood stage (11.5 feet) tonight, cresting in the pre-dawn hours. The National Weather Service reports the river level has risen five feet in the past 24 hours to nearly 8 feet.. Major roads crossing the river in Mission Valley are closed and underwater including Fashion Valley Road, Avenida del Rio, Camino del Este, Camino de la Reina and Mission Center Road. The San Diego Mission del Alcala church has flooded, as has the parking lot at Fashion Valley mall.

In East County, snow levels could dip down to 4,000 feet tonight, including the Julian area. Chains are currently required on Mount Laguna/Sunrise Highway from State Route 79 to Highway 8. There are also numerous closed or obstructed roadways:

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