Final push to get out evacuees and animals ahead of storm
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION) Evacuation efforts are continuing in Santa Cruz County Tuesday morning to get people and animals to safety ahead of an atmospheric river headed to the Central Coast.
The Sheriff's Office told KION they are wrapping up door-to-door evacuation efforts and making sure people can get to out before the rain and wind comes in Tuesday night into Wednesday. At the start of the day, they had about 15% of homes left.
“We are urging people to get out now,” Public Information Officer Ashley Keehn told KION.
The Sheriff's Office says at least 261 residents in evacuation zones have chosen to stay behind, despite the warnings.
The weather is expected to create the potential for spot flooding, debris flow, downed trees and downed power lines, which agencies warn could make it difficult for evacuees to get out of the area once the storm begins.
“We want to get to people immediately but if there’s an active debris flow and it’s not safe to go in there and we risk getting more people trapped, it could be a delayed response for us to get to them,” Keehn said.
But it’s not just people that have to get out of the area; horses and livestock live in the Santa Cruz mountains as well so volunteers with Santa Cruz County Equine Evac are helping get horses and livestock to safety.
Operations will end at 4 p.m. Tuesday for the safety of staff.
The planning has been going on for months, though. Mary Sullivan-White said after the fires, they helped ranches make evacuation plans in case of mudflows.
“Getting people situated, making sure they have a plan, making sure we have places for horses to go,” Sullivan-White said. ”It’s definitely a labor of love for the horses and the animals.”
Santa Cruz County Equine Evac has been working on getting animals to safety for the past couple days. They have 29 horses stationed at private ranches across the county, but they can’t stress enough the importance of getting these animals to safety before this weather picks up.
“Cause it’s going to be so dangerous because we can’t see the debris flow. By the time we hear it, it’s going to be too late,” Sullivan-White said.
Cal Trans has crews stationed along Highway 9 to respond to any road hazards, but the agency is urging residents to avoid unnecessary travel.
The Sheriff’s Office said they have deputies patrolling evacuation areas Tuesday night and also working with emergency responders to prepare rescue teams in case there is a debris flow and someone needs help.
