Updates: SLO County hit with rock slides, downed power lines and wind damage from storm
Power outages, damage and road closures were reported across San Luis Obispo County on Thursday morning in the wake of a powerful “bomb cyclone” storm that blew through the region overnight.
In Atascadero, high winds blew off a portion of the awning over the gas pumps at the Shell station on Highway 41.
In Cambria, a home on Sherwood Drive was struck by what the Cambria Fire Department described on Facebook as “an extremely large rogue wave.”
The home’s windows facing the waterfront were shattered, and the home’s resident was knocked over by the wave, which caused water damage throughout the home.
Cambria CSD Fire Department, Cambria Healthcare District Ambulance, and Cal Fire all responded to the scene, though the patient declined transport to the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
The Cambria Fire Department also had a busy night clearing fallen trees from local roads.
In San Luis Obispo, a tree fell on a parked car in the 1100 block of Pacific Street on Thursday afternoon, according to a San Luis Obispo Police Department tweet.
“No injuries to humans occurred,” the agency said. “The tree and the car aren’t going to make it.”
In Templeton, CHP and San Luis Obispo County Public Works were responding to a reported mud slide blocking both lanes of Willow Creek Road north of Las Tablas Road around 1:40 p.m. on Thursday. Drivers were asked to avoid the location.
The storm dumped more than 2 inches of rain on several SLO County spots, with Rocky Butte near San Simeon leading the way at more than 4 inches.
The powerful system also kept PG&E crews busy, knocking out power to more than 6,000 customers overnight. At dawn, around 3,500 remained without power, according to the PG&E outage center.
Los Osos was hit the hardest, when 2,539 area customers lost electricity starting at 7:47 p.m. Wednesday, PG&E said.
PG&E spokesperson Carina Corral said additional equipment was deployed there, and power was expected to be restored by 3:40 p.m. Thursday.
”A crane is required to reach the affected line that our 100-foot bucket truck cannot reach,” Corral told The Tribune in an email. “Power will be restored as quickly and as safely as possible. Due to the severity of the storm overnight, it was not safe for crews and equipment to operate, and this was the narrative across our service territory.”
Elsewhere, outages east of Lake Nacimiento affected 828 customers starting around 2:35 a.m. Thursday, according to PG&E. Corral said power was restored there by mid-morning.
A series of smaller outages affected the rest of SLO County, with about 300 Cambria customers losing power, according to PG&E.
Corral said most of the outages were weather-related, as trees, tree limbs and debris fell on power lines, a condition made worse by already-saturated ground soil from previous storms.
In total, PG&E recorded 49 outages in total overnight, Corral said.
”Severe weather conditions delayed our restoration efforts in some areas, as public and personnel safety is our first responsibility,” Corral said.
A new outage was reported Thursday afternoon, with 1,206 customers in Nipomo without power as of 2 p.m. That outage was believed to be weather-related, according to PG&E.
High surf but limited flooding in SLO County
Despite the heavy rains, SLO County weathered the storm reasonably well without any major flood damage.
Some parts of San Luis Obispo were experiencing flooding Thursday morning following the overnight rains.
As of 8:22 a.m., roadway flooding was reported at the intersection of Buckley Road and Jesperson Road, according to the California Highway Patrol. The Morro Rock and Pit parking lots were also both closed due to flooding Thursday, according to the Morro Bay Police Department.
Nevertheless, the National Weather Service extended its flood watch to 6 p.m. Thursday.
SLO County is also under a high surf warning until 10 a.m. Friday, and a coastal flood advisory will remain effect until 1 p.m. Friday, according to the Weather Service.
As high-tide waves swamped normally dry sandy-shore areas along Moonstone Beach Drive early Thursday morning, Brock Carter was among Cambria residents who’d packed the parking lot to watch the oceanic show.
Further up the roadway, waves were hitting bluff areas at Leffingwell Landing, splashing across the boat-launch ramp and occasionally brushing the ocean side of the two-lane oceanfront street.
Carter, a retired San Luis Obispo County employee who was for decades in charge of Shamel Park in Cambria, said he hadn’t seen anything like Thursday morning’s wave action since the 1970s.
Cassie Hartley of Roseville was out taking pictures of the aftermath of the storm in Avila Beach on Thursday.
“This is nature at its finest,” she said. “I love it.”
Hartley said she was traveling to Sacramento but stopped in SLO County for a few days.
After Wednesday night’s storm, she said she wanted to make sure to get up early and check out the big waves crashing across the coast.
“It’s just incredible — it’s amazing,” she said. “Unbelievable beauty.“
Hartley was one of dozens of people at Avila Beach on Thursday morning taking in the impacts of the storm.
Giant swaths of marshmallow-like sea foam covered much of the beach and sidewalks where the water level reached overnight, as well as seaweed and other ocean debris.
What appeared to be part of a pier piling was also on the beach Thursday morning.
Avila Pier lost one piling in the storm, according to Port San Luis Harbor District Facilities Manager Chris Munson.
The pier remains structurally sound without the piling, Munson said. In fact, the pier typically loses a few pilings during large storms, he said.
“Overall, it’s holding up for now,” Munson said. “We can lose quite a few piles.
When the tide recedes, Harbor District staff will retrieve the piling from the beach using heavy equipment such as a backhoe, Munson said. The storm also caused damage to the pier’s water line, Munson said, though he wasn’t sure about the extent of the damage yet.
The pier is currently closed to the public, and Munson advised people to be careful near the beach.
“We do get waves unexpectedly,” Munson said. “We do caution people to use common sense and be careful at the low lying areas at the beaches.”
The Cambria Fire Department echoed that sentiment in its Facebook post about the rogue wave, warning residents about the threat of high surf from the storm.
”We would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the dangers that exist along the Cambria coastline,” the Fire Department said. “We have one of the most gorgeous beachfronts, but with that beauty comes a need to be vigilant of changing water and weather conditions. The recent weather event has brought high tides and waves to Cambria and everyone should take extra caution near the coastline.”
Highway 1 closed due to rock slides
Rock slides caused by runoff from the rains forced the closure of the closure of Highway 1 at multiple points, according to Caltrans.
The highway closed from 4 miles north of San Simeon to 4.4 miles south of Big Sur due to slides, Caltrans said.
“Due to continuing issues with flowing water and debris in the roadway south of Ragged Point, the southern limit of the Highway 1 closure on the Big Sur coast has been moved 10 miles south of Ragged Point,” Caltrans said in a news release Thursday.
The northern limit for the Highway 1 closure was just south of Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn in Monterey County, Caltrans said, while the southern limit of the closure was at a parking lot by the Piedras Blancas elephant seal viewing area.
Only public safety agencies and emergency response teams are permitted within the closed area, the release said.
“Additionally, during overnight hours, gates will be closed across the roadway within the closure area at the north and south end of Paul’s Slide (PM 22),” Caltrans said in the release.
One landslide occurred at Polar Star about a mile south of Ragged Point, Caltrans spokesperson Kevin Drabinski said.
“When this location was first of concern in December 2021, we layered wire netting across the face of the slope,” Drabinski said.
Highway 1 was also closed from 0.9 miles north of the border between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties due to flooding.
Meanwhile, Caltrans closed Highway 154 on Thursday morning between State Route 246 in the Santa Ynez Valley and State Route 192 in Santa Barbara due to rockslides blocking lanes.
That closure was expected to last all day, and there was no estimated reopening time, according to Caltrans.
Motorists can use Highway 101 as an alternative route.
Santa Barbara County evacuation orders lifted
On Wednesday, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown ordered evacuations for South Coast residents near recent burn areas due to concerns of storm-related flooding, mudflows and debris flows.
Santa Barbara County officials lifted evacuation orders for residences and businesses in the Alisal, Thomas and Cave Fire burn areas at at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
“While we are able to allow residents to return home, we remind everyone that this was a serious storm that caused impacts across the county,” Santa Barbara County spokeswoman Kelsey Gerckens Buttitta told Noozhawk. “Please be aware of loose and falling rocks, minor landslides, wet road conditions, downed trees and (power) lines.”
High rainfall recorded across SLO County
According to the National Weather Service, several parts of SLO County received several inches of rainfall Wednesday and early Thursday.
The northern coastal mountains received the most rainfall over the past 48 hours as of 4 a.m. Thursday, the agency said.
Cambria reported 2.01 inches of rain over the past two days, while Los Osos received 2.61 inches and Rocky Butte near San Simeon got 4.25 inches.
In the North County, Paso Robles saw 1.02 inches of precipitation, and Atascadero received 1.97 inches.
Arroyo Grande got 1.95 inches of rain and Lopez Lake received 1.95 inches.
In San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly reported 1.68 inches of rain, while San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport recorded 1.48 inches.
Forecast calls for more wet weather
More rainfall was expected until around 4 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service said.
The agency predicted cloudy skies on Thursday night, followed by a mostly sunny and cool Friday with a high of 62 degrees.
After the brief break, however, more wet weather is headed this way.
According to the agency, there’s a 30% chance of rain on Saturday.
That likelihood of rain will be increase to 70% with some breezes by Saturday evening.
Chances of rain drop to 40% on Sunday, the Weather Service said.
Rain is also in the forecast for the first half of next week.
Tribune reporter Mackenzie Shuman also contributed to this story.
This story was originally published January 5, 2023 at 9:08 AM.
