Evacuations lifted for Salinas’ Bolsa Knolls neighborhood

UPDATE 2/21/17 9:48 a.m.: Monterey County officials said evacuations have been lifted for residents in Salinas’ Bolsa Knolls neighborhood as of Tuesday morning.

They also said the American Red Cross shelter at North Minister Presbyterian Church will be closed.

UPDATE 2/20/17 10:37 p.m.: “I woke up this morning and I had a river,” said Chester Sleker, a resident in Salinas’ Bolsa Knolls neighborhood.

Flooding is not a sight anyone hopes for, but Sleker, who has lived on Paul Avenue for almost 30 years, said he’s seen the area flood a dozen times.

“The creek at the back, from the strawberry fields, the water rushes down, overflows and start coming to the road,” Sleker said.

Julieta Bejar, who’s been living down the street for three years, said she didn’t think it would be this bad.

“No, we didn’t, because we were preparing our back yard but when everything starts coming down from San Juan Grade and Rogge, that really shocked us,” Bejar said.

Bejar was shocked to find her garage and bedroom floor soaked with the muddy runoff, and county officials are warning residents to be careful while cleaning up.

“Stay out of the water. It’s not real sanitary. There’s probably chemicals through the farm fields. We just don’t know what’s out there,” said Miles Schuler with Monterey County Regional Fire District.

Some neighbors dug makeshift canals to funnel the water out while others came together to help each other.

“We’ve been borrowing pumps from our neighbors, and that’s the nice thing about Salinas,” Bejar said.

But choosing to stay under a mandatory evacuation comes with risks, and Bejar said she has her bags packed.

“You feel better when you are at home. When you are at an evacuation site, I don’t know. The kids are used to being in their beds, but if we have to go, we go,” Bejar said.

The creek has not reached flooding stage as of this writing.

Monterey County Sheriff’s office will reevaluation the evacuation order on Tuesday morning.

UPDATE 2/20/17 4 p.m.: The Monterey County Office of Emergency Services has issued a mandatory evacuation for parts of the Bolsa Knolls community in north Salinas. The areas affected are from Russell Road to Bear Creek Court and Van Buren to the homes on the southeast side of San Juan Road. An evacuation center has been set up at North Minister Presbyterian Church on East Alvin Street in Salinas.

Denner Street flooded on Monday morning and according to longtime resident Renee Green, the last time that area flooded was in 1998. Her garage was under 4 inches of water, while further down Denner Street, it’s a lot worse where water was up to 2 feet in some areas.

“Here in the Bolsa Knolls neighborhood, we’re concerned about the areas west of San Juan Grade and north of Russell Road and east of Bellinzona,” said Salinas Fire Deputy Chief Brett Loomis. “That’s where the main Santa Rita Creek comes through.”

There are more concerns with more bad weather on the way. Roads in that area were closed off to traffic on Monday.

“At least they’re blocking off the streets so people don’t come,” Green explained. “You know how people like to come and go splashing through the water, which then just sends it back to everybody’s yard. At least it will hopefully stay more towards the middle of the streets, neighbors are getting sandbags for their garage.”
Over on Bolivar Street, just southwest of Bolsa Knolls, Cindy Cisneros is in a holding pattern as she waits for the waters to recede and the power to come back on.

“Waiting on PG&E,” Cisneros said. “They said at 12 pm but I don’t know if that’s going to happen again. And now this morning my husband came out and he saw a big flood and we had to move the cars and yea, now we’re just kind of waiting.”

While the city tried to prepare for the storm, some things are out of their control.

“We worked last year when the anticipated El Nino was coming that never really did,” said Salinas City Council Member Kimbley Craig. “We worked with the county to clear creeks, worked with the county with the Salinas River and really have tried our best to manage potential flooding although there are certain wild cards.”
And Salinas Fire reminds people – walking through moving water can be a wild card also.

“A lot of people are attracted to watch it, it’s very intriguing, right?” Loomis said. “One misstep could be catastrophic. Please stay away from the flowing water.”

UPDATE 2/20/17 2:23 p.m.: Mandatory evacuations are now in place for residents in the Bolsa Knolls area, according to the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services.

County officials said the evacuation area includes Russell Road to Bear Creek Court (just beyond the Salinas Golf and Country Club entrance) and Van Buren Avenue to the homes on the southeast side of San Juan Grade Road.

An urban and small stream flood advisory was issued by the National Weather Service at 2:12 p.m. for Santa Rita Creek.

An emergency evacuation center is set up at North Minister Presbyterian Church at 315 East Alvin St.

County officials say residents can call 211 or text 898-211 “windstorm” for more information.

PREVIOUS STORY: Some residents in the Bolsa Knolls neighborhood of North Salinas are being evacuated because of significant flooding Monday morning, according to Salinas Fire.

These evacuations are voluntary, according to Deputy Chief Brett Loomis. The areas affected include: North of Russell Road, south of Rogge Road and west of San Juan Grade.

An incident command post has been set up in the neighborhood at Oak Park Market.

KION will have more on this story as information becomes available.