Of all the places that unexpectedly flooded this past year, there was one that unexpectedly did not – Lamont. Typically, heavy rain years kick up water in the Caliente Creek and it comes rushing east out of the Tehachapi Mountains, turns south under Highway 58 into a wide wash and floods out Lamont. Years ago, the water would have spread out like a sheet and continued south toward Arvin. But farmers built a levee along Mountain View Road and lined it with tamarisk trees. The structure is easily spotted on satellite map views of the area.