North SLO County scrambles to warn residents, provide shelter amid deluge 

SLO County’s protective instincts roared to life to combat the life-threatening weather.

The El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO) said they had well-prepared teams catering to homeless community members seeking refuge in emergency shelters in Paso Robles and Atascadero. ECHO President Wendy Lewis told New Times that while there was a lot of widespread communication about the previous county storm in December, there wasn’t enough dissemination in the lead-up to the bad weather.

“That would be something we’d follow more closely. It caught everyone in the community off guard,” Lewis said.

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• PHOTO COURTESY OF YESSENIA ECHEVARRIA
• FIRST RESPONDERS Volunteers at the Paso Robles Event Center hosted by the American Red Cross looked after people seeking refuge from the storm on Jan. 9 and 10.

With 50 and 60 beds in Paso Robles and Atascadero, respectively, ECHO’s shelters reached full capacity Jan. 9 and 10. Lewis said that their shower program hit a record level of use, and they’re on the lookout for clothing donations. ECHO hopes to receive men’s and women’s tennis shoes, men’s casual clothing, and sleeping bags.

“We heard from so many people that they lost everything,” Lewis said. “We did meet a gentleman who was in hypothermic shock and emergency services came to help. We haven’t heard of casualties but heard of close calls when the creek flooded rapidly.”

While ECHO had outreach teams go out and inform people about the storm, the city of Paso Robles relied on drone technology.

“We flew the whole area with drones, and we marked any encampments that we saw,” Paso Fire Chief Jonathan Stornetta said. “We geo-referenced them, so that way we can go out with our iPhones and electronics, and we can identify exactly where those camps are.”

The American Red Cross also swooped in to help. They opened five shelters across SLO, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. The Paso Robles Event Center and SLO’s Church of the Nazarene became emergency shelter sites. Ten people stayed overnight on Jan. 9 at the church, while 15 camped out at the event center.

Red Cross spokesperson Taylor Poisall said that most of the visitors were homeless prior to the storm.

Hosted by the 5Cities Homeless Coalition, the South County Regional Center in Arroyo Grande became a warming site for residents in the region. Community Action Partnership SLO’s 40Prado space also increased its shelter beds for the homeless and others caught in the storm. SLO activated evacuation locations at the Marigold and Foothill shopping centers.

But tragedy struck SLO County too. Floodwaters killed a motorist on Jan. 9 after overtaking her vehicle along Avila Beach Drive.

That same day, 5-year-old Kyle Doan of San Miguel was swept out of a stuck truck and carried away by floodwater. His mother was driving him to school when her truck got stranded. The SLO County Sheriff’s Office conducted a two-day search, and it was ongoing as of press time.

After nearly seven hours of searching on Jan. 9, they only found his shoe. At the time of his disappearance, Doan was wearing a black puffer jacket with a red liner, blue jeans, and blue and gray Nike tennis shoes. On Jan. 10, the Sheriff’s Office issued a public statement advising people not to conduct self-initiated searches during the flood.

In a public statement on Jan. 10, County Administrative Officer Wade Horton said that Cal Fire performed 19 swift water rescues over 24 hours. He said the county coordinated with the Coast Guard, and recently used a CHP helicopter to drop off ice at the Pacific Dunes Ranch RV resort, where about 200 campers were stranded by levee flooding, awaiting evacuation.

“We used a helicopter to fly in provisions to folks that are stranded,” Horton said. “When you see water across the road, you think you can get through it but just don’t try it. It can have tragic consequences as we’ve unfortunately seen in this county.” ∆

OTHER LOCAL STORM COVERAGE

Community bands together amid evacuations

Devastation: Residents are grappling with the aftermath of the deluge that battered SLO County Jan. 9 and 10

Residents face flood- and mud-damaged homes and businesses

Levee systems, dozens of roads and bridges damaged