Wild weather hits Inland Empire

WILDOMAR, Calif. (KABC) -- Lightning, heavy rain and hail hit the Inland Empire Tuesday afternoon, flooding streets in Wildomar and causing a brush fire in Acton.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for western Riverside County, which included the cities of Moreno Valley, Hemet and Corona. The warning expired around 3:30 p.m.

Wildomar experienced steady rainfall, enough to flood the streets. Several cars were submerged in the flood waters. The sudden storm also knocked down trees and power lines.

Elsinore High School on the 21800 block of Canyon Drive in Wildomar suffered damage due to flooding and high winds.

Workers were clearing dirt and debris from outdoor areas of the campus and mopping up soaked floors in classrooms and offices Tuesday night. The high school and its athletic field was swamped by the sudden downpour. The football team was seen practicing on the basketball court.

Lightning caused a brush fire near southbound Highway 14 at Soledad Canyon Rd in Acton around 5 p.m., L.A. County Fire officials said.

PHOTOS: Sudden storm dumps rain, hail across Inland Empire

Meantime, a red-flag warning had Southern California firefighters on high alert Tuesday.

The National Weather Service issued the red-flag warning, which expired at 9 p.m., as the Southland entered a sixth consecutive day of extreme heat.

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The danger zones included the Angeles National Forest and the Ventura and Santa Barbara county portions of the Los Padres National Forest.

Temperatures reached the upper-90s in the Los Angeles-Metro area and Orange County, and triple-digits in the Inland Empire, Valleys and High Desert.

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Southern California residents were being warned to take precautions during the high fire danger. Fire officials say all it took to start the wildfire in Silverado Canyon last Friday was a ray of sunshine reflecting off a sheet of metal in a homeowner's backyard. That fire charred 968 acres and was 93 percent contained as of Tuesday night. A flash-flood warning was issued by the National Weather Service for the area just before 4 p.m. Tuesday.

The Silverado fire is just one of several fires burning in California. Local strike teams from Orange and Los Angeles counties are heading up north to help fight a major wildfire in Weed, California, near the Oregon border. The fire has damaged or destroyed 150 homes and a church, and has forced at least 1,500 people to evacuate.

Two other fires, one near Yosemite National Park in central California and another east of Sacramento, also led hundreds of people to evacuate their homes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.