8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY january 12-18, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com news The most serious rainstorm in years descended on California this week, and Monterey County was not spared. Massive storm swells barreled into the coast from the Pacific, breaching the Carmel River Lagoon and flooding the adjacent Carmel Point neighborhood. In the North Salinas neighborhood of Bolsa Knolls, residents stacked sandbags to barricade their homes from the flooding of Santa Rita Creek. Dozens of people flocked to evacuation shelters to take refuge. The Arroyo Seco River was the site of dramatic scenes on Jan. 9, when a Coast Guard helicopter rescued a couple and their dog after their home was surrounded by floodwaters. Amid such conditions, Monterey County authorities sprang into action to ensure that they, and the public, were not caught off-guard. Starting Wednesday, Jan. 4, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office commenced what would be a string of flood evacuation warnings and orders through the next week—urging residents from Carmel Valley and Big Sur to Parajo and the Salinas Valley to be prepared to leave their homes if necessary. By Jan. 10, more than 18,300 Monterey County residents were impacted by the evacuation measures, according to county estimates. The string of storms are an early test in the tenure of Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto, who assumed her new role on Dec. 30. Over the course of the week, Nieto and other county officials stressed the degree of cooperation taking place between various local and state agencies—including daily “multi-county coordination meetings” with officials in Santa Cruz County and other neighboring jurisdictions, as well as representatives from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES). “We have a unified command working on this storm,” Monterey County Supervisor Mary Adams said at a Jan. 5 press conference in Carmel, where the Sheriff’s Office had issued an evacuation order earlier that day. While acknowledging the weather event was “an uncommon situation for us,” Adams said county authorities had “been prepared for a while” to deal with the fallout. That included liaising with CalOES to procure equipment such as four high-water rescue vehicles from the National Guard, which the county could deploy—along with jet skis and rescue swimmers—to aid those caught in the floodwaters. Nieto said Santa Cruz County had also secured two of the high-water flood vehicles, allowing the two counties to cooperate in deploying the six-vehicle fleet as needed. Frequently joining Nieto at public briefings during the week was Randell Ishii, Monterey County’s director of public works. “To weather this storm, this is an entire community collaboration,” Ishii said. In addition to operating four temporary evacuation points and four emergency shelters located across the county, the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services also looked to keep the public informed with regular updates on its website—including an interactive, color-coded map updated with the latest evacuation warnings and orders. Officials also took the outreach directly to people’s homes, including in some of the county’s more vulnerable communities that have been badly affected by storms in the past. On Sunday, Jan. 8, Nieto and Ishii were joined by county supervisors Luis Alejo and Glenn Church and County Administrative Officer Sonia De La Rosa in Pajaro, located just south of Watsonville. Nestled on the banks of the Pajaro River, the community was devastated by flooding in 1995, and officials stressed their desire to avoid a similar situation 28 years later. “There were things that went wrong in the ’95 floods, and we’re hoping not to repeat those,” Nieto said, citing an impending evacuation order for the area. She added that, if needed, law enforcement had the authority to arrest and remove residents who refused to comply with an evacuation order. “We do that because we care about you, your family and your pets,” said Nieto. As of Jan. 10, authorities had not arrested anyone for not complying with evacuation orders, according to a county spokesperson—though Weekly reporters encountered residents in various communities who did not heed orders and stayed in their homes. In Pajaro, officials including Alejo and Church led crews in a door-todoor canvassing effort to inform residents of the flood risks. “It was imperative that we come here and stress how important it is to be prepared for the worst-case scenario,” Alejo said. But there were also matters outside of the county’s direct control to account for. On Tuesday, Jan. 10, the Sheriff’s Office said that it was responding to the failure of multiple, privately operated earthen berms along the Salinas River in South Monterey County. The berms—raised barriers of earthen materials along riverbanks—are “not owned or maintained by Monterey County,” officials said. Neighbors and a property owner work to protect a house in Carmel Valley on Paso Hondo on Jan. 9, next to the Carmel River. They’d built a levee the river breached and worked to reinforce it between heavy rains, and pumped water out of the home. Batten the Hatches Faced with the biggest storm in years, Monterey County officials seek to present a coordinated public response. By Rey Mashayekhi “Be prepared for the worst-case scenario.” Daniel Dreifuss Daniel Dreifuss Flooding was widespread throughout Monterey County including in the North County neighborhood of Royal Oaks, seen on Monday, Jan. 9. According to the National Weather Service, more rain may be coming: “Storm door remains open.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAzNjQ1NQ==