Mudflows spur evacuations in So. Calif.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A dangerous storm system blamed for two deaths in Oregon, thousands of power outages in Washington and flooded roadways in the San Francisco Bay Area pushed into Southern California today, causing mudslides and evacuations.

A powerful squall line led the storm's pre-dawn charge, lashing the region with wind-driven rain. Rain fell at the rate of 1 to 2 inches an hour, triggering flash flooding, the National Weather Service said. The main front followed with rain falling at rates of a tenth to about a third of an inch per hour.

Avalanches of mud and debris blocked part of the Pacific Coast Highway in Ventura County, weather service specialist Stuart Seto said. Street and freeway flooding snarled morning rush-hour traffic and triggered numerous accidents.

Mudflows in two areas stripped bare by wildfire forced people from their homes.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered for 124 homes in Camarillo Springs, about 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles, Ventura County sheriff's Capt. Don Aguilar said.