It’s been two months since SLO County was battered by a deluge of rain that broke levees, eroded river embankments, and downed trees. As repairs from the Jan. 9 and 10 floods continue, local officials brace for another 2 to 4 inches of rain expected from March 9 through 11.
According to the National Weather Service, SLO city is expected to receive 3.33 inches of rain, Atascadero 2.21 inches, Paso Robles 1.47, and Cambria is expected to get 4.
Cities and community services districts are prepping for what could be a repeat of January’s storms by coordinating storm preparation efforts with the SLO County Office of Emergency Services. According to Rachel Monte Dion, SLO County emergency services coordinator, officials are concerned about the ground being saturated with water from this winter’s storms, leaving not many places for the water to go.
Dion said that the county is closely monitoring residents living south of the Arroyo Grande creek levee, which failed in January, and those living in low-lying areas like Santa Margarita.
“All of those areas that have issues, we’ve gone back and done what we can to ensure that that doesn’t happen. A lot of the measures are temporary, because there hasn’t been enough time to go back and do some of the permanent work that takes a long time,” Dion said.
Cambria Fire Chief Justin Vincent said that the town’s biggest concern right now is monitoring the status of the Windsor Bridge area, which is the only point of access to the Park Hill neighborhood.
“Every vehicle that goes across that road damages that road a little more,” he said. “If it gets to a point [where] that road is too damaged, we’re not able to get emergency vehicles in, which is a safety concern.”
Vincent said the Jan. 9 and 10 storms helped the Cambria Community Services District identify which areas would be hit the hardest in the next bout of big rain.
“This last storm taught us a lot of lessons when it came to the equipment that we have, staffing,” Vincent said.
Johnathan Stornetta, chief of Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services, said the city has worked tirelessly to evacuate homeless people out of the Salinas Riverbed, sending out warnings to residents, and clearing out debris to prevent further flooding. He said the city expects the Salinas River to rise to the monitoring stage during the first storm from March 9 to 11.
“If that second storm materializes, we could, worst-case scenario, see us hit flood stage again,” Stornetta said. “We’re very concerned with just over 2 inches.” Δ
This article appears in Mar 9-19, 2023.