Last Thursday, Jan. 19, the meeting room at Zayante Fire Department was packed to the rafters with local residents pleading for more information on storm recovery and disaster relief.
The catastrophic series of storms that pounded the region beginning in December 2022 left homes flooded, businesses isolated and roads underwater. A massive 100-foot-long landslide obliterated a portion of Highway 9 between Felton and Ben Lomond, leaving the road impassable, and ultimately destroyed.
Shortly after the storms passed, locals demanded action, and leaders from every facet of government arrived in Zayante to share insight and resources.
Earlier that day, President Biden had flown into Watsonville Municipal Airport, where he met with Gov. Gavin Newsom and other local dignitaries to tour the storm-torn remains of the Central Coast. As he made his way north along Highway 1, Biden was given up-to-date information on the consequences of the storms, ending his tour in Capitola, where he could be seen stepping through the detritus of the Paradise Beach Grille.
Fresh from the President’s visit, 19th District Congressman Jimmy Panetta welcomed a who’s who of local and regional leaders to the Thursday night event: Sen. John Laird, Fifth District Supervisor Bruce McPherson, PG&E’s Teresa Alvarado, Assistant Director for Transportation and Roads Steve Wiesner, Santa Cruz Sheriff Jim Hart, Boulder Creek and Zayante Fire Chiefs, Maureen McCarthy from the Office of Gail Pellerin, and members of FEMA, the California Office of Emergency Services, the Small Business Administration and the Red Cross who assembled to provide updates for residents who endured the very worst that Mother Nature had to offer.
From Boulder Creek to Ben Lomond to Zayante and Lompico, attendees were reassured that local officials were aware of their day-to-day struggles, and that help and resources were on the way.
Sheriff Hart promised residents that in addition to the school resource officers and two assigned deputies who protect the San Lorenzo Valley, he would have two more officers placed at either end of the slide to ensure access to law enforcement resources, and he agreed to contact CHP about stationing patrol officers along the Glen Arbor corridor.
Locals in Ben Lomond and Zayante raised the roof over commuters speeding down their windy residential roads as a work-around for the traditional Highway 9 commute; those messages have been disseminated throughout the community via social media, but some residents felt a lights-and-sirens approach to speeders is called for.
Hart also promised to open up the Boulder Creek and Felton substations for use by FEMA and the Red Cross to ensure easy access to information and resources by residents.
“Anything we can do on behalf of our department, we’re happy to help, and we’ll put all available resources forward to help the community get back on its feet,” Hart said.
Congressman Panetta advocated for assistance for local residents with the President, and he felt upbeat following the tour.
“Tonight, we want to listen and have a conversation about how the government at all levels can help residents move forward. We have assembled these resources—not just for tonight but going forward,” Panetta said. “Today, President Biden told me, ‘The federal government is here, and the federal government is not going anywhere.’ I hope that you all have the reassurance that we are here for the long-haul. We want you to understand that we are here to help with the devastation and destruction you’re all dealing with. We will help you recover, repair and eventually, return to normal.”
Sen. Laird added, “We have talked to people who have water in their houses; seniors that were evacuated in three feet of mud, and people who have roads so badly damaged that emergency vehicles can’t get up their roads. We were fighting at the state level to get that emergency declaration announced, and now we’re working on getting the money where it needs to go. We need to know what your specific needs are, then we’ll run with it.”
Supervisor McPherson shared some data from the storm, beginning with the fact that the county still has $70 million owed to it from the CZU August Lightning Complex Fires of 2020. He said there was an estimated $55 million in damages to the county from the atmospheric rivers that dumped 24.5 trillion gallons of water on the state, but he was expecting that number to double, possibly even triple.
“We have 600 miles of roadways in the unincorporated areas, and Bear Creek Road and Highway 9 suffered greatly during the storms,” McPherson said. He also alluded to the need for the landslide on 9 to dry out before any work could be done to assess the damage to the roadway, but as of Sunday, crews had removed the majority of debris from the highway, only to find that the northbound lane had been severely compromised.
McPherson asked for residents to be patient during the recovery and emphasized that the safety of work crews was paramount during this process. In addition, he pointed to three dumpsters that had been deployed to assist residents in their clean-up efforts—Felton Grove, downtown Ben Lomond on Mill Street, and in Paradise Park on Highway 9—as well as the pop-up disaster recovery center stationed at the Senior Center in Highlands Park.
Overall, residents were buoyed by the messages they received from the meeting but are still worried about the long-term recovery process.
Attendees recounted being without power, internet and phone for upwards of two weeks; one woman from Boulder Creek attended on behalf of her neighbors and notified Alvarado that they had been in the dark for 20 days. Representatives from FEMA and the Red Cross were eager to provide residents with information kits and food, and Alvarado handed out her direct phone number to those with the greatest need.
Since the meeting, crews have worked quickly to help residents get back on their feet. A new, temporary light was installed at the corner of Hihn and Glen Arbor, and the County opened a Disaster Resource Center at the Felton Branch Library, 6121 Gushee St., on Jan. 25 to assist storm survivors with a host of recovery issues.
The site is expected to be open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and offer guidance from County agencies, such as Environmental Health, Human Services and Planning, as well as the California Office of Emergency Service (CalOES) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
A recording of the San Lorenzo Valley community meeting is available on Jimmy Panetta’s Facebook page at facebook.com/RepJimmyPanetta/videos.
