Santa Cruz County caught a rare glimpse of the sun this week, while preparing for another storm to hit the region in the Sunday-Monday time frame.
Through Tuesday, Feb. 20, Felton had received 76.30 inches of rain for the ‘water year,’ far more than last year’s annual total of 51.21 inches, according to CalFire.
Boulder Creek had received 69.88 inches, according to Storm Ready. Last year Boulder Creek received a total of 49.47 inches for the entire water year.
“Lorenzo Avenue became a river again this morning during final showers of the storm when rain rates briefly exceeded 5 inches (5.14) per hour and contributed to washing away one half of the road where it crosses Molasky Creek,” said Boulder Creek resident Elaine Hander. Hander’s rooftop weather station feeds the National Weather Service and Weather Underground
The President’s Day deluge was enough to continue its devastation of county roads. Soquel-San Jose Road is completely closed, as is Alta Via Drive in Boulder Creek. Other closures include Glenwood Drive, Lompico Road, Nelson Road, Alba Road, and Summit Road.
“We’re looking at $30 million-plus for unincorporated roads only,” said Robin Musitelli, analyst for Fifth District Supervisor Bruce McPherson. “The President’s (emergency aid) declaration did not include FEMA grant funding for private property or private roads.”
The county damage assessment also doesn’t include damage to residences or private roads, or to water districts or cities.
The declaration does allow for people to apply for Small Business Administration funding if there property was damaged during the period between Jan. 3 – 12, Musitelli said. She added that the county Board of Supervisors will likely pass another declaration of an emergency to cover the most recent storm at its Feb. 28 meeting.
The lone piece of good roadway news this week was the reopening of Highway 17 northbound to two lanes at 2 a.m. Tuesday, after more than two weeks as one lane each way. The freedom of four lanes of travel ended quickly with a mudslide southbound at the Santa Clara County line. On Wednesday, south-bound traffic was reduced to one lane from the mudslide area to Granite Creek Road in ScottsValley.
“We were focused on getting the commute through,” said Caltrans spokeswoman Susana Cruz, adding that the slide area north of Vine Hill Road will be assessed for a long-term solution after the rains have stopped for 30 days.
In the meantime, a cement guardrail has been constructed at the area to stop subsequent slide material.
