Hollister residents clean up after flood swallows homes

For many residents in Hollister, Wednesday was about collecting what was swept away by the storm and cleaning up their homes filled with muddy water. It was a flood that many weren’t prepared for.

“I had no idea that this was going to happen,” Steven Vail said.

Residents on Lovers Lane are used to minor flooding, even large puddles on the road, but not this much water.

“It’s been probably since 1999, ’98, the El Nino years that there was any kind of significant flooding,” said Kevin O’Neil with San Benito County Emergency Services.

In just a few hours, houses near the overflowing Pacheco Creek were swallowed by the cold and muddy water.

“I woke up because the tip of my blanket got wet. When I pulled it back at about 2 a.m., my house was just a foot deep in water, and it was rising,” Vail said.

Vail was able to catch another few hours of sleep at his landlord’s nearby. He was back in his apartment by seven o’clock to see what was left.

“I had to pick up my fridge because it floated away and fell over on its own,” Vail said.

There was one thing Vail said he lost for good, something that brings back good memories.

“My bachelor’s degree. It got drenched and submerged,” Vail said. “College was one of the best years of my life.”

But Vail, like many others, is grateful everyone is safe and he can move forward.

“Since I’ve been alright, I can make it through. That’s all that matters,” Vail said.