Los Angeles (CNN) -- Rain-soaked residents of California will get a brief reprieve Friday from the storms that inundated the state for most of the last week, before another round of wet weather hits the West Coast over the holiday weekend.
Southern California enjoyed its first taste of sunshine in five days Thursday as residents of the region and three nearby states in the Southwest worked to recover from the damage and dangers wrought by torrential rains.
Acting California Gov. Abel Maldonado late Thursday afternoon proclaimed a state of emergency for Kings, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties, to expedite government assistance and aid to the region. Two days earlier, a similar order was issued -- by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- for Kern, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo and Tulare counties.
Flood waters have claimed at least one life, authorities said Thursday. Angela Marie Wright, 39, of Menifee, California, died Wednesday when her car was swept off a road and into Canyon Lake by flood waters, according to the Riverside County Coroner's Office.
The recent series of Pacific fronts pounded Southern California hardest, but the storms also strafed western Arizona, southern Nevada and southwestern Utah, which all were under flood watches and warnings that stretch until early Friday morning. Mudslides remain a threat because of the soggy ground.
Conditions cleared in much of those areas Thursday, but the damage left by days of seemingly nonstop rain remained. That meant the chore of the day was cleaning up mud and flood damage to many homes and businesses. CNN
