Storm leaves residents without power for more than 24 hours

PG&E reported more than 9,000 customers lost power at the height of Thursday night’s storm.

Crews were hard at work restoring power and cleaning up roads. One of the hardest hit areas was Rodeo Gulch Road in Soquel. That’s where a tree took down one power line which, in turn, took others with it.

“I walked out over our bridge and saw that the tree had come down and taken every power wire, everything. Comcast, everything had gone down,” said Rodeo Gulch Rd. resident Kandie Silveira.

As the storm raged throughout the night, Santa Cruz County Emergency Services says the storm actually wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for Santa Cruz County.

“We’ve been in a drought for five years, so we’re having normal precipitation now for the county. So even for long time county residents, it kind of catches us by surprises when we have that much rain,” says Rosemary Anderson, Emergency Services manager with Santa Cruz County.

Residents on Rodeo Gulch hope to never be surprised again.

“I just dropped a grand on a generator and extra cord to make sure that our life keeps going,” said Rodeo Gulch Road resident Tom Carter. “I take care of my dad full time, so we have to have our life alert. We’ve got to have lights, got to have heat. So last night was the last night I will ever go without power.”

Anderson said as things dry up, county crews encourage everyone to be proactive and prepare for the next time a storm comes through.

“Have flashlights on hand, have food that you don’t have to cook, be aware of your housing situation. Have sandbags in place before you have a need for them.”

PG&E says that power should be restored to the Soquel residents by 8 P.M. Friday night.