When Hilary hit their small road, no one was prepared for the destruction that followed
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. — Arcie Mendiola took the first sip of her favorite tequila cocktail about 4 p.m. Sunday during her family birthday celebration. Eight hours later, she was on the roof of her home, surrounded by panicked loved ones, smelling gas from a leaking pipe and praying to be rescued.
As Tropical Storm Hilary swept through Cathedral City, similar terrifying scenes played out up and down Horizon Road — a short, usually tranquil stretch lined with palm trees and rock-and-dirt frontyards able to withstand the scorching desert heat.
Across from the Mendiolas, a family was trapped as its one-story home flooded. Two houses down, terrified elderly residents were stranded in a board-and-care home.
By Monday afternoon, there would be 46 rescues across Cathedral City, just southeast of Palm Springs, including the 14 seniors, mud-caked and bleeding, who were finally escorted to safety from Horizon Road. First responders found themselves grappling with sinkholes, drivers stuck in and flowed into houses.
