WATSONVILLE — Though Watsonville only got slight traces of rain Wednesday morning, further north showers started to drench the region, ushering in a host of typical wet weather problems.
By 11:30 a.m. there were 11 reported incidents of wires down around Santa Cruz County and eight vehicle crashes as of midnight, including a solo vehicle that collided with a tree on Old San Jose Road in the mountains east of Soquel Village.
The worst of the wires down incidents was on Columbia Street on the west side of Santa Cruz, where firefighters called for extra help when they found a power pole on fire and a transformer that crashed to the ground. A crew from Pacific Gas & Electric was called in to deal with that issue.
Emergency workers are especially concerned about possible mudslides caused by heavy rains in Butte County, where the Camp Fire roared over 236 square miles, killed at least 81 people and wiped the entire town of Paradise off the map. Officials said that 699 people are still unaccounted for. The fire is 80 percent contained.
Now, with the obliteration of trees, grass and brush, erosion is the next chief concern if winter rains muster enough downfall to saturate the charred, barren landscape.
Meanwhile, in the south, officials are keeping a keen eye on the scorched terrain left behind by the Woolsey Fire, which burned through more than 96,000 acres in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. In addition, the Hill Fire in Ventura County blackened more than 4,500 acres and is now 100 percent contained. Three people have been reported killed in the Woolsey Fire that is 98 percent contained in its 14th day. Mudslides are also on the radar of emergency crews as rain approached the region.
Cal Fire posted on their website regarding the Camp Fire in Butte County: “Moderate to heavy rain is forecasted over the fire area from this morning (Wednesday) into Saturday. Established containment lines are holding and firefighters continue work to construct and reinforce direct and indirect control lines to increase containment. Crews continue to patrol the fire area to extinguish hot spots. Damage inspection teams continue to survey the area. Fire suppression repair continues to rehab the fire area in order to reduce the impacts of the coming rain.”
Steve Anderson of the National Weather Service of Monterey said a band of rain was working its way into Santa Cruz County with most of the rain reaching the Santa Cruz Mountains. Anderson said about an inch of rain had already fallen in the mountains by noon. The rain will begin to slow into Wednesday.
“We’re looking at a little bit of a break on Thanksgiving with more rain on Friday, but not a whole lot,” Anderson said. “Most of the heavy rain will be north of San Francisco.”
