Santa Cruz County residents prepare for first rain of the season

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) Before the first downpour of rain Tuesday afternoon, Santa Cruz County residents were getting out in their yard for last minute storm preparation.

Many were up on roofs clearing out gutters or raking in the street.

“Waited until the last minute, but I’ll get it done before the rain hits. I always like to wait, because the leaves are still falling and I’ll have to do it again [since] the leaves are still falling,” Felton resident Steve Monowitz said.

Just up the road from Felton, we caught another homeowner putting the final touches on his pre-rain cleanup.

“All the water comes down from the Mt. Hermon and then the leaves just clog this [drain] up and the water starts to clog up around my home,” Jeff Nolan said. "I usually get it pretty good now, but the first rains are hard, because the first rain brings all the junk down.”

County public works said there’s a high possibility of falling trees during this first storm, because roots haven’t seen water in months so they’re more fragile than they normally are.

“They’ll impact roads especially up in the mountains and the rural roads. Those are the areas we usually see the biggest impact from whether systems," County spokesman Jason Hoppin said. "When they come down they often take wires with them, and we need PG&E to come out and clear those wires before we can clear the trees.”

Most fire stations in Santa Cruz county have sand and sand bangs available to pick up for free.