Rain floods Ventura RV park, prompts evacuation

Sid Garcia Image
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Rain floods Ventura RV park, prompts evacuation
Continuous rain doused Ventura County and flooded an RV park near the swollen Ventura River on Thursday.

VENTURA, Calif. (KABC) -- Continuous rain doused Ventura County and flooded an RV park near the Ventura River on Thursday.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the rain-swollen Ventura River around 8:30 a.m.

The Ventura Beach RV Resort near Main Street and the 101 Freeway was evacuated, and approximately 50 campers were relocated to the Ventura State Beach parking lot, Ventura police said.

Some RVs and vehicles were caught in the flood water, but no one was injured.

The area near Main Street is prone to flooding, so Ventura firefighters kept a close eye on the conditions. When the Ventura River's water level reached a certain point, it was time to evacuate.

"By the time I disconnected the coach from the sewer and water and all, I'm ready to drive out, and it's flooded and there was a car that was already buried. It was up to the roof already," said Julio Esparza of Ventura.

The National Weather Service said the Ventura River water level has since dropped, and the flood warning was canceled.