Orange County cities were prepared for Tropical Storm Hilary when it came into Southern California Sunday, and it seems the county fared pretty well thus far.
In Irvine, only a few fallen branches and trees were left in the tropical storm’s aftermath.
City maintenance crews will clean up the pine needles and debris on the roads over the next few days and ensure clear areas around storm drains. On Monday, Irvine Unified School District remained open.
Mayor Farrah Khan said Irvine took a proactive approach in preparing for the storm.
“Our public works and public safety teams were out and about in the city,” she said, “making sure that our emergency operations centers were ready and on standby.”
Anaheim was spared from the worst damage from Hilary as well. The eye of the storm went over the city and poured about two inches of rain.
There, city workers cleared 15 downed trees, and a few power outages were reported. Road debris will be cleaned over the next few days as street sweeping continues. Monday’s street sweeping largely focused on the downtown area, and the city will start issuing street citations beginning Tuesday.
Both Anaheim Union High School District and Anaheim Elementary School District kept schools closed on Monday out of caution. AUHSD Superintendent Michael Matsuda said the district is “hopeful” classes will resume on Tuesday.
City spokesperson Mike Lyster said Hilary’s effects in Anaheim were on par with a bad winter storm.
“We are very fortunate for the way it played out here in Anaheim,” said Lyster.
Orange County Board of Supervisor Chair Don Wagner said he believes the county responded well to the storm and there have been no major problems reported. Apart from 89 cancellations yesterday afternoon when the worst of the storm hit, he said the John Wayne Airport is up and running smoothly.
“The areas hardest hit would, of course, be our canyons, as they usually are. But even there, we had no reports of road…
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