🌱 Rare Snowy Owl Spotted + Midnight Car Rescue On Flooded Roads

Good morning, friends! It's Paula Constance. I'm back as your host of the Orange County Daily. Keep reading for the most important things going on around town. Today's briefing includes:

• New Year's Day power outage.
• A rare snowy owl was spotted in Orange County.
• O.C. drivers rescued from flooded roads.
• Missing Yorba Linda hiker found dead Saturday.

But first, today's weather:

Cloudy with showers around. High: 62 Low: 56.

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Here are the top stories in Orange County today:

1. An unexpected power outage on New Year’s Day left 1,650 Laguna Beach residents without power. The outage happened at 1:30 p.m. and impacted areas from "Laguna Canyon Road, west to Coast Highway, south to Country Club Road, and East to Aliso Canyon Road," power company officials said. Southern California Edison spokesman Ben Gallagher said damaged equipment may have been from wind or the recent weekend storms. (OCRegister/paywall)
2. A rare Arctic snowy owl unexpectedly landed in a residential neighborhood in Cypress on Thursday. It's a mystery how the winter raptor made its way to Orange County. Some think the recent storms may have thrown the young owl off course. A cooper's hawk swooped down at the owl at one point, but local crows intercepted those swoops. The snowy owl flew off just after 5 p.m., onlookers noted. The state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife said it is "monitoring the situation." (The Daily Pilot)
3. A powerful weekend storm brought flooding rains to the region, causing several floodwater rescues of stranded drivers. In Tustin, three people were rescued from their cars just before midnight by Orange County Fire on the 55 Freeway "in the middle of a flooded Fourth Street off-ramp." Thanks to OCF, all people trapped by flooded roads were rescued, and no injuries were reported. (CBS News)
4. I'm sorry to say, the missing Yorba Linda man who went on an early Friday morning hike was found dead on Saturday. Jeffrey Morton, 63, was found after his wife reported he didn’t return home at 6:30 a.m from his daily 2:30 a.m. hike Friday morning. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department confirmed Morton’s body was found, but did not release additional information. (Orange County Patch)

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Today in Orange County:

• Cozy Family Winter Read: Cypress Library (10:00 AM)
• Makerspace Open Hours In-Person - Huntington Beach Public Library (2:00 PM)
• Parks, Beaches & Recreation Commission Meeting - Newport Beach (5:00 PM)
• Family Storytime at the Sunkist Branch - Anaheim (5:30 PM)
• First Tuesday Book Group - El Toro Library (5:30 PM)

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Events:

• Top 5 Ways to Get Divorced - Vesta's Irvine, CA Hub (January 4)
• Le Salon de Musiques: Schubert - Winterreise for Baritone & Piano (January 8)
• Crossing Over With Psychic Medium John Edward (Live)! (January 20)
• Add your event

You're all caught up for today. I'll see you around!

— Paula Constance

About me: Paula is a contributing writer, author, and award-winning media producer.When she's not writing, you can find her hiking or watching fireflies in the sultry moments before sunset. You can follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Orange County Daily? Contact me at orangecounty@patch.com