IN BRIEF

CALIFORNIA STORM

Rain triggers mudslide that traps vehicles

A mudslide triggered by a sudden cloudburst caused a hillside near Griffith Park in Los Angeles to collapse Saturday, trapping as many as a dozen cars in mud.

No one in the cars was injured and nobody had to be escorted from their vehicles, said Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The slide struck shortly before 1 p.m. along a 100-yard stretch of Forest Lawn Drive, near the entrance to Forest Lawn Cemetery.

It covered the roadway in mud 2 or more feet deep and brought large boulders and tree limbs cascading down from the hillside.

The road was closed until utility crews could shovel up the debris.

The storm also brought scattered power outages to the region.

COMMERCIAL BUILDING

Authorities blame lightning for fire

Lightning is believed to have caused a fire that tore through a commercial business building at the corner of Horizon Ridge Parkway and Coronado Center Drive, near Eastern Avenue, Friday night, Henderson authorities said.

Henderson firefighters were alerted to the fire by a passer-by just before 11 p.m., said Battalion Chief Doug Koopman.

Firefighters found smoke and fire coming from the roof of the single-story office complex, which was home to a dental and physical therapy practice.

Fifty firefighters responded and brought the blaze under control in about 25 minutes.

Damage was estimated to be about $200,000.

No one was injured.

DRIVER CHARGED

Semitrailer hit, kills man in parking lot

A man walking in the Flying J truck stop parking lot at the corner of Cheyenne Avenue and Losee Road was struck and killed by a semitrailer about midnight Friday, North Las Vegas police said.

The truck fled the scene, police said, but a witness followed it and was able to direct officers to the driver.

Dan Hingston, 55, of Los Osos, Calif., was charged with felony hit and run resulting in death and booked into the North Las Vegas Detention Center.