BEAUMONT, Calif. (AP) -- A firefighter was killed and two others were injured when their fire truck rolled off a freeway while they were apparently responding to storm-related accidents, officials said.
Saturday's crash marked the first on-duty firefighter death for the Riverside County Fire Department in recent years, county fire engineer Rick Griggs said. The names of the firefighters involved in the crash were not immediately released.
The fast-moving storm that moved through the area brought strong winds that knocked over more than 50 power poles in Perris and Quail Valley. Up to 30,000 Southern California Edison customers were temporarily without power, company spokesman Paul Klein said.
Gusts knocked down trees in Banning and San Jacinto, officials said.
``All the streets were like rivers and one house had water damage,'' county fire engineer Scott Bethurum said from Banning.
However, there were relatively few accidents as most residents hunkered down to wait out the rain.
``I think it rained hard enough that people were careful,'' he said.
Information from: The Press-Enterprise
