SLO County bracing for major storm expected to soak Central Coast this week
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - San Luis Obispo County is bracing for what is forecast to be the strongest storm so far during the winter season.
"We've been in close contact with the National Weather Service," said Scotty Jalbert, San Luis Obispo County Emergency Services (OES) Director. "They're advising us that we can expect anywhere from three to five inches of rain throughout the county, and maybe even up to five to 10 inches of rain in the mountainous areas and in some of the foothills."
With a heavy volume of rain expected to soak the county over the next couple of days, Jalbert indicated a decision has been made to open the Emergency Operations Center on Thursday beginning at 8 a.m.
"We bring all the key players in, such as mutual aid coordinators for fire, law enforcement, Public Works, and our (OES) office," said Jalbert. "We coordinate all of our efforts, to handle emergencies and problems that are out there due to the storms."
Jalbert added emergency services and first responders within the county are all prepared and poised right now and are ready to provide service when the need arrives.
"All of our crews, all of our fire crews, law enforcement, Sheriff's Office, CHP," said Jalbert. "They'll be all fully staffed and being able to respond to incidents as they occur. Will be coordinating all these events, so the Emergency Operations Center tomorrow and will be fully prepared to handle whatever comes our way."
Caltrans has also been monitoring the weather as the storm has been approaching and is preparing to have a busy two days on Thursday and Friday.
"We react to what Mother Nature deals us," said Jim Shivers, Caltrans District 5 Public-Legislative Affairs Manager. "Our maintenance and engineering forces are on call 24-7 in anticipation of any road closures or maintenance work or engineering work that needs to be done. We're ready. We're on the standby. We're hoping that we don't have to deal with anything super serious, but if in case there is a need, Caltrans is ready to go."
Shivers noted that District 5, which includes all of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Monterey counties has several areas that are notoriously prone to flooding during times of heavy rainfall.
"A lot of our roads and our district are near slopes near mountains," said Shivers. "Highway 1 in Big Sur comes to mind. State Route 41 between Atascadero and Morro Bay is another area known for flooding, and agricultural areas such as Oceano or Guadalupe Highway 1 and Highway 154. There are numerous locations that are potentially impacted by heavy rain will respond accordingly wherever that rain should fall."
Both San Luis Obispo County and OES are strongly warning drivers to be very cautious while traveling on local roadways during the storm and
"It really is a serious point that we sincerely ask the motoring public to obey all traffic signs, particularly road closure signs," said Shivers. "We don't want to have anyone fall into harm's way and we ask the public to respect all of the informational signs, especially road closure signs."
Jalbert also wanted motorists to be aware of extra aware of water on roadways, either if its running or appears to be still.
"It's been a while since we've seen this kind of rain," said Jalbert. "Just a reminder for folks to not drive through standing or moving water. There's a saying, turn around and don't drown. We've had tragic events in the past where people thought they can navigate through the water and they couldn't make it. "Make sure that you're aware of your surroundings and make sure that you know that if you're around a creek, keep an eye on the creek. If it starts to flood, maybe it's time to leave."
