Storm updates: SLO County beach closed due to sewage spill, evacuation warning extended
Update, 5:40 p.m.:
A San Luis Obispo County beach area was closed Wednesday due to an ongoing sewage spill from a wastewater treatment plant in Guadalupe.
The Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve in the southern reaches of San Luis Obispo County is closed for three miles around the mouth of the Santa Maria River.
That’s because there is an ongoing release of sewage from the Guadalupe wastewater treatment plant into the river, according to the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department.
The sewage has gone through some treatment but it has not been disinfected, the public health department said in a news release Wednesday afternoon.
It’s unknown how much sewage has been released into the river, or when the spill will stop.
Update, 4:50 p.m.:
San Luis Obispo County extended its evacuation warning for the area surrounding the Arroyo Grande Levee and Oceano Lagoon.
According to a news release from the county Office of Emergency Services, residents in the area of the Arroyo Grande Levee and Oceano Lagoon should continue to avoid the following locations:
- South of Pier Avenue to the Pacific Ocean;
- North and East of Strand Way & River Ave; and
- East to the railroad tracks, along the tracks, back up to Pier Avenue.
“Residents in these areas should be prepared for possible flooding and evacuation as additional storms hit the county,” the release said. “Ongoing storms will continue to fill the lagoon and levee and potentially overflow into surrounding residential neighborhoods.”
SLO County sheriff gets help in search for missing boy
Update, 1:25 p.m.:
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office continued its search Wednesday for Kyle Doan, a 5-year-old student at Lillian Larsen Elementary School in San Miguel.
Search operations on Tuesday involved the Sheriff’s Office’s Search and Rescue Team, Underwater Search and Rescue Team and Drone Team, as well as deputies, detectives and air operations, the agency said in a news release Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office received mutual aid resources from other local law enforcement agencies — including dive team members, search-and-rescue team members and K9 units from Ventura County and Santa Barbara County, the release said.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office supplied personnel with sonar equipment to aid in the search, the Sheriff’s Office said.
“We thank our mutual aid partners for helping us with the search while having to deal with rain related incidents in their own counties,” Cipolla said in the release.
Cipolla said search efforts will continue the rest of Wednesday and continue Thursday as well “if warranted.”
Driver who died in Avila Beach flood identified
Update, 1:35 p.m.:
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday identified the woman who died near Avila Beach after floodwaters overtook her vehicle.
Avila Beach resident Karen Buccat, 60, was driving on Avila Beach Road east of San Luis Bay Drive on Monday when her SUV began to submerge under the water, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Dispatchers received multiple calls around 12:30 p.m. Monday about a vehicle with a female driver being overtaken by floodwater on Avila Beach Drive east of San Luis Bay Drive, the CHP said in a news release.
Cal Fire deployed a swift water rescue boat to reach the vehicle, and located a white Ford Escape containing a solo female driver “overtaken by floodwater,” the CHP said.
Emergency personnel found the woman, later identified as Buccat, “deceased in her vehicle,” the CHP said.
Buccat is the second local person confirmed to have died during the storm.
The Morro Bay Police Department found a 78-year-old man was found dead inside a stored boat in the 1500 block of Main Street on Tuesday.
Pismo Beach expands barrier around clifftop bench
Update, 12:30 p.m.:
The city of Pismo Beach expanded the barrier around a clifftop bench at Margo Dodd Park in Shell Beach that is expected to fall into the ocean.
A crack next to the bench on the bluff has continued to widen since it was first taped off Saturday.
On Wednesday, the barrier was located at the sidewalk, about 20 to 30 feet from the crack.
A city employee told The Tribune the city will let the bench fall naturally, then will come back for recovery and cleanup once that occurs.
Caltrans changes Highway 1 closure
Update, 11:30 a.m.:
The northern limit of the closure of Highway 1 on the Big Sur coast has moved south, Caltrans announced in a news release Wednesday.
The new northern limit is just south of Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn, Caltrans said.
Meanwhile, the gates at Paul’s Slide were closed as of Wednesday. and will remain closed 24 hours a day until further notice, the release said.
“Travelers from the south will encounter a closure on Highway 1 at the elephant seal viewing area, four miles north of San Simeon,” the release said. “A significant slide, one mile south of Ragged Point, extends over both lanes of travel.
“As a result, the highway is impassible at this location and is expected to restrict access to Ragged Point from the south for several weeks.”
Original Story:
San Luis Obispo County was expected to get a brief reprieve from severe winter weather as families countywide continue to be impacted by the fallout from Monday and Tuesday’s destructive storm.
The National Weather Service predicted light showers along the Central Coast Wednesday through Friday, with temperatures warming up a few degrees on Thursday.
The rain is expected to return over the weekend and will possibly continue into next week, according to the National Weather Service.
While SLO County straddles two intense weather systems, residents worked to clean up storm damage to homes and businesses.
Search for boy swept away by floodwaters enters third day
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the search for Kyle Doan, a 5-year-old student at Lillian Larsen Elementary School in San Miguel, continues Wednesday.
The Sheriff’s Office will continue their search of San Marcos Creek and the Salinas River on Wednesday as the search for the child enters its third day, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tony Cipolla said in a text message.
Doan and his mother, Lindsy Doan, a special education teacher at Lillian Larsen, were stuck in muddy, rushing floodwaters Monday morning before 8 a.m. about two miles down San Marcos Road.
“They were on the way to school. They went across the road, had some water rushing across it from the recent storm. And the car started to be swept away,” Cipolla told the Tribune Tuesday. “Both the mom and the son exited the vehicle. There were some nearby neighbors that were able to rescue the mom, but the boy floated off in a different direction and was unable to be rescued at that point.”
Roughly 15 to 30 members of the Sheriff’s Office participated in Tuesday’s search along with family, friends and community members from across the county.
“We will search until we find him,” Cipolla said.
Los Osos community flooded by ‘large wall of water’
In Los Osos, roughly 20 homes were damaged after a water retention basin owned by the Los Osos Community Services District released “a large wall of water,” according to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Paul Provence.
Kay Blaney, 85, told the Tribune that her plans for a quiet afternoon spent reading at her home on Vista Court was thwarted when floodwaters tore through her neighborhood, creating a river in the road.
“I was a little scared,” Blaney said.
The inside of her home was untouched by floodwaters but the exterior and garage was flooded with an inch and a half of water, she said.
She was evacuated from her home Monday night.
When she returned home to Vista Court on Tuesday morning, she was touched to see teams of neighbors working together to help clean up the damage from the floodwaters in Los Osos.
About 100 people showed up with shovels and pizza to help the neighborhood along with roughly 55 Cal Fire personnel.
Thousands of gallons of sewage leaked into Morro Creek
Monday’s storm released nearly 10,000 gallons of sewage into Morro Creek, according to the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department.
The sewage leak lasted from about 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday, the release said.
Public Health reminds the public to avoid ocean water for at least three days in the aftermath of a rainstorm.
Rainfall runoff is known to contain disease-causing organisms such as bacteria, viruses and protozoa from the watershed and urban areas to the ocean that could lead to rashes, fever, chills, diarrhea and vomiting, among other symptoms.
This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 10:38 AM.
