Live storm updates: Hwy. 1 reopens in Morro Bay, SLO County flash flood warning lifted
A major storm drenched San Luis Obispo County on Friday, bringing with it flooding, water rescues, road closures and concerns about rising creek levels.
By the end of the storm, up to a foot of rain could fall on some spots in the county, though other places will likely see closer to 2 to 4 inches of rain.
Follow along below for live coverage of the storm as it slams SLO County:
Update, 6:40 p.m.:
Southbound Highway 1 has reopened in Morro Bay as of Friday night.
The left lane of northbound Highway 1 has also reopened, though the right lane remains closed from the Main Street off-ramp to Highway 41.
Meanwhile the flash flood warning that was in effect for San Luis Obispo County for much of the day has been canceled, according to the SLO County Office of Emergency Services.
Update, 6:15 p.m.:
The county has lifted the evacuation order for Cambria residents in the East Village.
According to a news release Friday evening, the Cambria Public Library will remain closed through Wednesday due to a landslide. Emergency officials ask the public to avoid the area surrounding the library in the meantime.
The County of San Luis Obispo Office of Emergency Services also posted recovery information for the public on RecoverSLO.org for those in need of assistance following the recent storm. This includes how to re-enter your home if you experienced damage, cleanup and recovery resources.
Update, 5:10 p.m.:
Windsor Boulevard in Cambria has reopened after shutting due to flooding Friday morning.
The Cambria Community Services District said flood waters receded enough to reopen the roadway as of 5 p.m.
“The emergency road gates (into the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve) have been closed and locked,” the CSD said. “Please drive slowly down Windsor Boulevard, as it is now in extreme disrepair.”
The CSD said it would continue to monitor creek rise and fall to determine future access to the Park Hill neighborhood.
Update, 5 p.m.:
Several parts of San Luis Obispo County are without power, according to the PG&E outage center.
In the Lake Nacimiento area, 420 customers are without power, along with 258 customers in Morro Bay and 149 customers in San Simeon.
San Simeon customers can expect power to be restored around 5:30 p.m., PG&E said, though no restoration time has been provided so far for the outages in Lake Nacimiento or Morro Bay.
Update, 4:18 p.m.:
Heavy rains flooded key infrastructure in Cambria and caused a potential sewage spill on Friday.
An unknown amount of sewage was released at a lift station at 2282 Burton Drive just after 11 a.m., the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department said.
Santa Rosa Creek waters covered the lift station completely, making it impossible to access the infrastructure until the flooding recedes.
Update, 2:40 p.m.:
Caltrans closed Highway 1 from Morro Bay Boulevard to San Jacinto Street in Morro Bay due to flooding, the agency said in a tweet.
According to the California Highway Patrol, traffic is being diverted off the highway at Morro Bay Boulevard, and both lanes will be closed during the roadway flooding.
The duration of the closure is currently unknown.
Update, 1:15 p.m.:
The city of Arroyo Grande issued an evacuation warning for residents living near Tally Ho Creek.
The evacuation warning, which applies to residents along the creek between Corbett Canyon Road and James Way, was issued at 11 a.m.; it is expected to last until Saturday at 9 a.m., according to a city news release.
Residents were encouraged to prepare to evacuate if an evacuation order is issued.
Update, 12:40 p.m.:
The National Weather Service extended the flash flood warning for San Luis Obispo, Atascadero and Arroyo Grande through 7 p.m., the agency said in a tweet.
The flash flood warning advised people within the affected areas to move to higher ground immediately and avoid walking or driving through floodwaters.
Update, 12:05 p.m.:
In Oceano, where residents had been warned to prepare to evacuate, Arroyo Grande Creek was running high Friday morning, but had not breached the levee.
Kate Ballantyne, San Luis Obispo County Public Works deputy director, said the Arroyo Grande Creek Levee’s channel was “quite full” as rain continues to fill the creek.
To keep residents safe, the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services issued a mandatory evacuation order Thursday afternoon for residents living within one mile south of the Arroyo Grande Creek channel and west of Highway 1.
An evacuation warning also remains in place for residents north of the Arroyo Grande Creek levee, the Office of Emergency Services said Thursday.
Ballantyne said it’s “very hard to say” whether the levee will overtop with water either to the north or south, though the channel is designed to flood south and away from the residential streets first.
“We have staff here full time monitoring conditions,” Ballantyne said. “As soon as we know, we’ll alert the public.”
Phil and Chloe Chierhart, residents of the Pismo Sands Recreational Vehicle Resort, brought their son to see the filling Arroyo Grande Creek levee that borders the south end of the RV park.
“We’ve been traveling for a while, and everywhere we go, it rains two or three times a week,” Phil Chierhart said.
Chloe Chierhart said the family moved to Oceano during the January winter storms that similarly raised the water levels of the Arroyo Grande Creek levee.
“The water wasn’t this high last time,” she said. “We’re peeking at it so we can see if its getting too high and we have to go.”
Update, 11:40 a.m.:
San Luis Obispo County has issued an evacuation order for some areas in Cambria.
Residents north of Santa Rosa Creek, west of Bridge Street, south of Main Street and east of Cambria Drive must leave and seek high ground, according to a news release from the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services.
A temporary evacuation point has been established at the Santa Rosa Catholic Church at 1174 Main St. in Cambria, the agency said in the release.
An American Red Cross Shelter is open for evacuees and their pets at the Cal Poly Campus Crandall Gym at 1 Grand Ave. in San Luis Obispo, the agency said in the release.
Kevin Bracamonte, a four-year resident of Cambria whose home is located near the Santa Rosa Creek, said the water levels have reached the base of his home.
While his home is high enough to avoid flooding inside the home, Bracamonte said the water level is the highest he’s seen since moving to Cambria.
“(I’m) staying with a friend of mine, and we’re going to hang out (and) wait it out,” Bracamonte said.
Update, 11:25 a.m.:
A flood warning has been issued for the Salinas River in San Luis Obispo County.
According to the National Weather Service, flooding near the river in Atacadero and Paso Robles “is occuring or will when the river crests this afternoon.”
“This is a dangerous situation,” the NWS tweeted. “Move away from the river.”
Update, 11:15 a.m.:
The city of Paso Robles has issued an evacuation warning for neighborhoods and businesses near the Salinas River.
The city also urged residents to prepare for the closure of the 13th Street bridge due to “rapidly rising water levels within the Salinas River,” according to a news release.
Residents close to the river in lower Navajo Avenue area and south Paso Robles Street should begin preparing to evacuate now, the city said in the release.
If evacuations are necessary, an evacuation order will be issued and an evacuation shelter will be established, the city said.
Update, 10:50 a.m.:
Two people and a dog have been rescued from rising waters just south of Niblick Bridge in Paso Robles.
Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services tweeted that crews, with help from Cal Fire, evacuated the people who were stranded on an island just south of the bridge.
All were evacuated and safely brought to shore, Paso Robles Fire said.
Update, 10:45 a.m.:
Emergency crews are responding to reports of a flooded trailer park in Cambria on Friday morning.
According to emergency scanner traffic, roughly 20 to 30 homes are being impacted at the park at 1266 Main Street as of 10:43 a.m.
Fire and San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office personnel are at the scene and are launching swift-water techs to get people out of the homes, according to scanner traffic.
Update, 10:30 a.m.:
A water rescue is underway in Paso Robles.
The rescue is located at 100 Niblick Road near Kohls, according to PulsePoint.
Urban Search and Rescue teams are assisting Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services on the water rescue, Cal Fire tweeted Friday at 10:28 a.m.
Update, 10:15 a.m.:
The Highway 1 closure has been expanded due to storm damage.
The start of the road closure has moved south to the Elephant Seal Vista Point in San Simeon, rather than at Ragged Point, Caltrans announced Friday morning.
Caltrans spokesman Kevin Drabinksi said crews are working to clear a moderate rockfall slide stretching across both lanes of the highway at Polar Star south of Ragged Point.
There is another Highway 1 slide 8 miles north of the San Luis Obispo County line, Drabinski said, as well as one at the 29-mile marker.
“Once we have a grasp of the whole corridor, we’ll make a determination to see if we can clean things up to change the closure parameters,” he said.
Update, 9:50 a.m.:
The city of San Luis Obispo is monitoring local creek levels as the waters rise.
A tweet Friday morning showed creek waters almost up to the Bianchi Lane and Marsh Street bridges.
Another picture showed the San Luis Creek nearly up to Highway 101 near the northbound Madonna Road exit.
Update, 9:15 a.m.:
Cambria Fire Chief Justin Vincent said the Park Hill neighborhood would soon be cut off by flood waters Friday morning.
“The Santa Rosa Creek has risen significantly and has already diverted across Windsor Boulevard,” Vincent wrote in a community storm update.
San Luis Obispo County Public Works is on scene and is currently working to close the road, he said. Meanwhile, Fire Department staff were working to open the emergency access road to Park Hill.
Vincent noted flooding has also started to occur on Main Street in the downtown area.
“The fire department urges everyone to please shelter in place through this storm to avoid becoming part of our emergency response, and do NOT drive around barriers or emergency vehicles and into flooded waters,” he wrote. “Be smart, be patient and let’s get through this together.”
The SLO County Public Works Department tweeted the Windsor Bridge had closed as of 9:20 a.m.
Update, 9 a.m.:
A vehicle overturned at the northbound Highway 101 off-ramp near Mattie Road in Pismo Beach on Friday morning, according California Highway Patrol’s traffic incident page.
No injury was reported, and traffic on the highway has not slowed as a result of the overturned vehicle, according to the CHP page.
Original Story:
Much of San Luis Obispo County was under a flash flood warning Friday morning, after a powerful winter storm drenched the region overnight.
The National Weather Service originally issued a flood watch for the county on Thursday, then upgraded that to a flood advisory, saying that “widespread ponding of water on area roadways and local flooding of low-lying areas and intersections was occurring.”
At 5 a.m. Friday, the agency issued an additional flash flood warning for northwestern San Luis Obispo County, saying “life-threatening flash flooding” was “ongoing or expected to begin shortly.”
“This has the potential to become an especially dangerous flooding situation by late this morning,” the warning said.
The places most expected to be impacted were Cambria, Point Piedras Blancas, Hearst Castle in San Simeon and Lake Nacimiento.
At 7 a.m., the Weather Service expanded its warning to include most of coastal San Luis Obispo County, and the agency warned that Chorro Creek near Morro Bay was already nearing flood stage.
Communities that could be impacted by flash flooding include San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, Pismo Beach, Atascadero, Arroyo Grande, Nipomo, Grover Beach, Highway 101 over Cuesta Grade, Santa Margarita, Lake Lopez, Oceano, Avila Beach, Templeton and Cayucos, the agency said.
The flash flood warning will be in effect until 1 p.m. Friday, the agency said.
Meanwhile, a lower-grade flood watch will continue for the entire area through Friday night, according to the National Weather Service.
In response to the flooding risk, Oceano residents south of the Arroyo Grande Levee were ordered by the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services to evacuate.
Residents north of the levee and near the Oceano Lagoon were still under an evacuation warning as of Thursday night.
A high wind advisory was also extended for San Luis Obispo County through 3 p.m. Friday.
The storm, which is fueled by an atmospheric river, is expected to last through Friday night into Saturday.
The National Weather Service predicted at least 2 to 4 inches of rain will fall in most of San Luis Obispo County from Thursday night into late Friday, but the North Coast and into the mountains could see up to 12 inches.
The heaviest downpour is expected to come Friday morning when up to 1.25 inches of rain per hour could fall, according to the NWS forecast.
Storm closes roads throughout SLO County
Several road closures were in place across San Luis Obispo County Friday due to flooding and other storm impacts.
Major roadways closed include Highway 1 north of Ragged Point and the Marsh and Higuera streets intersection and adjacent Highway 101 ramps in San Luis Obispo.
Also shuttered were Shell Creek Road between Highway 41 and Highway 58, San Luis Bay Drive between Highway 101 and Monte Drive and parts of San Marcos Road north of Paso Robles.
Chimney Rock Road south of Lake Nacimiento reportedly washed out just before 8 a.m. Friday, according to the California Highway Patrol. That means hundreds of residents in that area may be stranded despite the county’s attempts to fix the road after it was damaged in the early January storm.
Windsor Boulevard in Cambria was set to be closed off Friday morning as Santa Rosa Creek overflowed and brought several inches of water and lots of debris on the road.
Closure of Windsor Boulevard isolates many Cambrian residents in the Park Hill neighborhood. Their only way out or in would be through dirt roads on the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve. As of 8:45 a.m., Cambria Fire Department officials were assessing those roads.
A number of trees were also reported down and blocking roadways as of Friday morning, according to California Highway Patrol’s incident report page.
San Luis Obispo County remained under a state of emergency proclaimed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on March 1.
The city of San Luis Obispo also declared its own state of emergency Thursday afternoon.
This story was originally published March 10, 2023 at 7:48 AM.
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