Power outages, crashes and road closures across SLO County as more rain arrives

Power outages, car crashes and road closures were widespread throughout San Luis Obispo County on Thursday during a second straight day of wet weather in an already-stormy month.

More than 2,000 people in Pismo Beach and another 171 people in San Luis Obispo lost power Thursday morning, according to PG&E. Both outages were cleared by Thursday afternoon.

Crashes were also widespread, though injuries were not reported in many of them, according to the CHP.

However, an Arroyo Grande High School student was seriously injured in a crash between a truck and a tree on southbound Highway 101 at the Grand Avenue on-ramp.

CHP Officer Mike Poelking said two 17-year-old students were heading eastbound on Grand Avenue when they turned onto the highway. During their acceleration, the car spun out of control and drove over the edge of the road into a culvert, where it hit a large tree branch, he said.

“To me it looks like a combination of speed and wet roadway,” Poelking said, noting that cars often lose control on the ramps in the area due to high speeds.

Mud, rocks and flooding also impacted roads, according to the CHP.

Flooding caused authorities to close Cholame Valley Road between Highway 46 and McMillan Canyon Road northeast of Shandon, San Marcos Road at Wellsona Road to about a quarter-mile east of Wellsona and Highway 1 at South Halcyon Road, according to the San Luis Obispo County Public Works Department.

As of 2 p.m., Rocky Butte had received 1.44 inches of rain and Los Osos received 0.72 inches, according to PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey.

“Many areas were below what we were hoping for but it’s still a lot of rain,” Lindsey said.

A cold front across the Central Coast will bring strong southwesterly winds, rain and a chance of thunderstorms on Friday, Lindsey said.

Strong winds are expected Saturday and may grow to gale-force gusts,” he said. Rain showers may linger through Sunday.

Here’s how much rain San Luis Obispo County has received in the last two days as of 3 p.m. Thursday:

48-hour rainfall totals as of 3 p.m. Thursday (in inches)

Source: John Lindsey, PG&E

This story was originally published February 14, 2019 at 7:52 AM.

Gabby Ferreira

The Tribune

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Gabby Ferreira is a breaking news and general assignment reporter at The Tribune in San Luis Obispo. A native of Houston, Texas, she was a reporter in Tucson, Arizona; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Palm Springs, California, before moving to San Luis Obispo County in 2016.