A volunteer member of a sheriff’s search and rescue team was struck by a vehicle and killed after stopping to help at the scene of a highway traffic collision during heavy rain in southern California.

The Ventura county sheriff’s sergeant Eric Buschow said several people, including two other members of the team, were hurt in the crashes on Saturday on Interstate 5.

Buschow said the team was heading for a training exercise when it stopped to provide aid in the Pyramid Lake area of Los Angeles county. He said another vehicle plowed into them. Officials did not immediately say if the collisions were weather-related.

A powerful storm has flooded roadways throughout the state. Forecasters said up to a half-inch of rain was recorded in five minutes in some areas as the second in a string of powerful squalls to hit California brought down trees, flooded roadways and prompted evacuations in wildfire burn areas where intense downpours could loosen bare hillsides and cause mudslides.

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Evacuations were ordered or recommended for many areas of northern and southern California hit by fires in recent months. Authorities fear that an inch of rain an hour could send fire debris, mud and boulders sluicing down denuded hillsides.

Forecasters said a wind gust in Santa Barbara county topped 80mph as the storm moved south. Flash flood watches and wind warnings were issued for the southern part of the state after being lifted in the San Francisco Bay Area. Motorists were urged to avoid travel in mountain areas where heavy snow is expected.

The National Weather Service said some sections of greater Los Angeles could see 4in of rain. It will be followed by additional, less powerful storms into next week.