The big storm that hit San Benito County Thursday afternoon caused small scale flooding, mudslides and winds that knocked down trees in Aromas, San Juan Bautista and Hollister.
“We have a lot of mudslides,” said Hank Brown, a road maintenance superintendent for the county. “Rocks on the roads.”
The county and the City of Hollister have chosen not to pay public works staff to work weekend shifts, though employees will be on call Saturday and Sunday. A representative from the City of Hollister Public Works Department could not be reached immediately for comment.
“I think all things considered we came through the storm pretty clean,” said Joe Horwedel, the interim public works director for the county.
By Friday morning, the crew’s “major problem” was three landslides on Southside Road, which caused Southside School to close its doors for the day.
“Our biggest focus right now is out on Southside Road—trying to get it open,” Brown said.
The road was closed between the county yard and Southside School. Horwedel worries that a portion of the other end of the road will flood, meaning people living on the road may find themselves without a way to get to their houses. The area has a “low water crossing,” which provides a bridge when water is low but is covered in water during large storms.
Since Thursday morning, the county public works department has responded to calls for at least 10 fallen trees, as well as flooding and mudslides, Brown said. By Friday morning, Brown had heard reports the county had received 3.8 inches of precipitation from the storm.
“That’s too much at one time for the county,” Brown said. “We’re not used to that much.”
But further away in the Panoche Valley, ranchers were telling public works employees they received only about an inch of rain.
“They’re kind of our intelligence gathering out there,” Horwedel said.
County employees have been filling in potholes for weeks in anticipation of rain but made a “last dash” Monday, Horwedel said.
In San Juan Bautista, there were some tree branches that were knocked to the ground during the rains and a few intersections that officials watched for flooding.
“By and large I think we only had a couple storm drains plugged up in Alameda and Fourth Street,” said City Manager Roger Grimsley.
The ground was parched and needed the rain, which mean there was less flooding, he said.
“We were surprised getting almost three inches of rain and not having any flooding,” Grimsley said. “What did fall, it seems like it sucked right up and we didn’t have any drainage issues on any of the channels.”
