RV crushed by fallen tree

UPDATED 7:07 1/20/17: Morning storms took a toll on much of Santa Cruz County. Sand near the Santa Cruz Beach Board walk was littered with debris Friday. Rising waters from the San Lorenzo river washed it ashore.

The storm also caused slide activity and several downed trees across highway 9, closing it at Glengarry Road.

For Carlo Gigli though, the storm caused an even bigger headache.

“Nature punishes us when we don’t pay attention” he said.

It was a frightening morning for Carlo when a slide caused these trees to crash.

The slide took his RV down the edge of a hillside and almost took him with it.

Carlo says he could tell the land around his RV was moving for some time and that another storm would do serious damage.

He tried to work with management at his RV park to get into a new spot but, he says it was too late.

“I was trying to grab a couple of things and then I had to jump out” Gigli said. “I don’t have my wallet, I don’t have my keys, I don’t have [anything]. Everything [is] in there.”

Experts worked to find a way to pull the RV back to land. Neighbors worked frantically to clear their space before the same thing could happen to them.

Despite losing his home, Carlo says he still has much to be thankful for.

“Thank God I didn’t have my kids with me and I didn’t not have my kids because of this” he said. “I was afraid something like this would happen.”

The American Red Cross is working to help Carlo find a place to stay. As for the Highway 9 closure, Caltrans says crews aren’t sure when it will open. They add that more bad weather could delay repairs further.

PREVIOUS: A vigorous Pacific storm brought heavy rain, wind and widespread damage to parts of the Central Coast Friday morning.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said a slide on Branciforte Drive took down three trees. The trees crushed a parked RV and nearly sent it sliding off a hillside. No injuries were reported.

Downed trees and slide activity also forced the closure of Highway 9 at Glengarry. Caltrans had no immediate estimate for the road’s reopening.

Numerous intersections were flooded early Friday, including Green Valley Rd. at Pinto Lake and Paulsen Road in Watsonville.

Tonight, KION reporter Zach Fuentes surveys the damage and shows us why officials are keeping a wary eye on a turbulent Soquel Creek.