mud out Pajaro
Robby Olson (from left), Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo and others are part of around 100 volunteers that took part in Mud Out, an effort to clean up Pajaro after recent flooding. Photo: Tarmo Hannula/The Pajaronian

PAJARO—Volunteers grabbed shovels, brooms, pressure washers and wheelbarrows Saturday to help citizens of flood-stricken Pajaro recover.

Starting at 9am at Pajaro Middle School, the crowd formed teams and hit the streets of Pajaro, many targeting homes with caked up mud in and around their homes.

Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo said more than 100 volunteers showed up for the “Mud Out” event.

“There’s a big need right now in Pajaro to get this work done, and that’s why we are here today,” Alejo said, before he grabbed a shovel and dug in.

While shoveling out heaps of mud from the yard of a home on Florence Street, Robby Olson said he felt it was his duty.

“Our community is in desperate need,” he said. “It’s important to find the time to join together with others to get this work done.”

On the night of March 10, the Pajaro River levee broke open, sending torrents of built-up rain water across the town, infiltrating homes, businesses, farmlands and roadways.

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Tarmo Hannula has been the lead photographer with The Pajaronian newspaper in Watsonville since 1997. More recently Good Times & Press Banner. He also reports on a wide range of topics, including police, fire, environment, schools, the arts and events. A fifth generation Californian, Tarmo was born in the Mother Lode of the Sierra (Columbia) and has lived in Santa Cruz County since the late 1970s. He earned a BA from UC Santa Cruz and has traveled to 33 countries.

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