Santa Cruz County officials discuss response to storm, what they expect

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION) Santa Cruz County officials held a virtual press conference to discuss what they expect as a storm rolls in Tuesday night and what they have done to prepare.

So far multiple zones in Santa Cruz County in and around the CZU Lightning Complex burn area are under evacuation orders, but some residents have decided to stay, despite the risk of debris flow. A total of 261 people have told deputies that they intend to stay in their homes.

Officials said they expect some localized flooding, but said work has been done at the Pajaro River to prevent flooding. This afternoon, crews moved sand bags around, and all roads in the area are currently open.

They also addressed the possibility that Santa Cruz County may not be hit as hard as expected by the storm.

"Those plans could change, things could change but tonight's our focus and we're going to continue to monitor what that forecast looks like and if it does change then obviously people could come home sooner than later. It's just that there's such a big unknown," said Chief Deputy Chris Clark with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office said it has 21 deputies working in the San Lorenzo Valley and several will be committed there through the night to monitor the situation. A rescue task force is also in the area and additional fire engines.

The rescue task force is an interdisciplinary team of experts in fire, public works and other areas from Marin. The team responds if there is a debris flow, and once it is stabilized, they go in to search for anyone who might have been caught up in it.