Flash flooding puts foothills residents on high alert

MADERA COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Flashes of torrential downpour formed rivers along North Valley roads on Monday. It was an unusual sight to see for neighbors weathered by a historic drought.

"That's why we was out on our Jet Skis right there because we didn't think this was going to happen. This is cool," said Chris Clark of North Fork.

In North Fork, rain and hail swept through the region. And just a few miles northwest at Bass Lake, Ducey's on the Lake - a popular restaurant -- was flooded in just minutes.

"We were sitting inside one of the restaurants and just looking outside, and all of a sudden it was just downpour. It was a ton of rain, a ton of hail; it was insane to see all of it come down that quickly," said Hillary Thompson of Torrance.

Trevor Thompson and his family are from Southern California. They've been coming to a cabin near Ducey's for years.

"The last time I saw rain like this was in 2009; the first time we came. It was a downpour," said Trevor Thompson.

By the late evening, trails of mud replaced heavy flooding, and the storm moved beyond the Bass Lake waters. There were reports of hail falling as big as one inch in diameter.