Slip ‘n’ Slide

Watsonville to be close due to the flood advisory, then closed all schools, including those in Aptos, due to the flash flood watch, and they remained closed Tuesday.

Aptos schools reopened Wednesday but Watsonville High and nine other schools including Ohlone Elementary remained closed due to evacuation orders by the city of Watsonville, Santa Cruz County or Monterey County.

Pajaro River

Dozens of homes in the 55+ community of Pajaro Village in Watsonville were flooded when the Corralitos Creek, a tributary of the Pajaro River, overflowed and sent muddy water through the neighborhood.

The city of Watsonville posted a photo of a waterway swollen muddy brown, but the Pajaro River has not breached its aged levee, built in 1949 and federally approved for replacement.

On Wednesday morning, the Pajaro Bridge, which crosses the Pajaro River from Watsonville to Monterey County, was closed. The Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, at 21601 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville, offers overnight shelter for evacuees, but East Lake Avenue is closed, so take an alternate route to get to the fairgrounds.

With more wet weather forecasted, residents were given evacuation warnings that they should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

In case the Pajaro River would flood, the National Guard was stationed by Pajaro Valley Golf Club, which is close to Ohlone Elementary. To limit traffic congestion, the Pajaro Valley school district transported Ohlone students to Rolling Hills Middle School in Watsonville for their families to pick them up.

Each day by 5 p.m., district officials announced plans based on weather conditions and forecasts for the next day.

On Monday, Cabrillo College in Aptos began serving as a shelter for those evacuated, with 100 cots in the cafeteria. Check-in is at Building 900.

Medical shelter is available at Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley, 85 Nielson St., Watsonville.

Photo Credit: Zach Friend

The USS Palo Alto, Aptos “Cement Ship”, and its pier suffered significant damage.

Two photos by Vince Grimaldi show how the storm surf surge pushed a house off its post-and-pier blocks on Beach Drive in Rio Del Mar.

Right: House now sits in the middle of Beach Drive. Below: Where the house (built in the `50s) was.

Levee Repairs

On Tuesday, Santa Cruz County officials said ”signs of seepage along an earthen levee” prompted ”emergency repair” along the Pajaro River levee system.

Granite Rock, the contractor, started work Wednesday on a “seepage berm” in an agricultural area more than a mile upstream of the confluence of the Pajaro River and Salsipuedes Creek. The work, expected to take one week, is similar to an emergency 1,600-foot repair completed in 2017 just south of this area, county officials said.

The repair is to support the levee until replacement work authorized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can begin. ”Any standing water is from localized flooding, not the Pajaro River,” county officials posted on Facebook.

Others worry about the San Luis Reservoir in Merced overflowing. Federal officials agreed to raise the dam by 10 feet, a $1 billion project that began in June and is expected to be complete in 2028.

The situation reminded one local of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden: It never failed that during the dry years, the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years, they lost all memory of the dry years. n •••

Cover Photo Credit: Gabe McKenna, California State Parks.

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Wilder Associates Inc.

Property Management Specialists 662-0291

Kumon Math & Reading Center

Learning for the Long Run 508-8200

Village Liquors

For All Your Beverage Needs 688-5691

Joy of Movement Pilates & Gyrotonic®

More Zest for Life 688-8077

Epicenter Cycling

Trek Bicycles for All Types of Riders 662-8100

Dentistry for Animals

Dr. Judy Force, DVM 768-7148

CQENS

International Inhalation Market www.cqens.com

Fair Board Meeting Cancelled

Due to the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds being used as an evacuation and shelter site during the current emergency, the Fair Board meeting scheduled for Jan. 24 has been cancelled. The next scheduled meeting is Feb. 28. For agendas and more information, see santacruzcountyfair.com.