The first major El Niño storm of the season arrived at this small Ventura County beach town Tuesday morning, and it didn’t take long for that potent combination of fire and rain to cause problems.

 

An intense downpour hammered a stretch of Highway 101 where a brush fire had swept through on Christmas weekend. Debris from the fire quickly clogged two drains in the freeway median. Soon, 6 inches of rain had accumulated on the roadway, bringing traffic to a halt.