Dave Alley
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – Even with a rare Christmastime rainstorm set to soak the Central Coast this week, local agencies say staffing will remain at normal levels despite the storm coming during the holiday.
“Everything that we’re hearing from the National Weather Service is that this is going to be the biggest storm that we’ve seen so far this rainy season,” said Anita Konopa, San Luis Obispo County Emergency Services Coordinator. They’re calling it an atmospheric river, which indicates a whole lot of moisture.”
According to News Channel 3-12 forecaster Evan Vega, light rain should begin Tuesday during the day with heavy rain arriving Tuesday night through Wednesday morning. He added severe thunderstorms, hail and gusty are possible across all areas Tuesday and Wednesday.
In the area north of Point Conception, Vega is forecasting two to four inches of rain for coastal areas and four to seven inches for the mountains, while south of the Point Conception, there could be three to six inches of rain for coastal areas and five to 11 inches for the mountains.
With this week’s rain coming over the Christmas holiday, a period of time where staffing is usually smaller than usual, the timing isn’t ideal for a significant rainstorm.
“With the holidays that absolutely affects staffing in general,” said Konopa. “But our response agencies are committed to being available and they have the staffing necessary and committed to respond to the emergencies should any arise.”
Konopa said San Luis Obispo County partners met on Sunday to discuss is needed to do to make sure everyone was ready to go if and when a storm response is needed.
“The departments are looking at extra staffing,” said Konopa. “They’re looking at what needs to happen, particularly with the holiday weekend and a lot of people being gone to ensure that they’re ready to respond should something happen. Staffing levels are dependent on the organization, and whether or not people are in the office and ready, or if they’re on standby and ready, but overall response organizations are ready should something happen.”
Also in San Luis Obispo, the Caltrans District 5 office, located the intersection of Madonna Road and Higuera Street, will also have a full crew in place this week.
“Operationally, we’re fully staffed during the storm, so we have both our maintenance crews out there making sure that our drainages are kept clear,” said Kevin Drabinksi, Caltrans Public Information Officer. “We also have a full maintenance team that that responds to incidents on the highway. We are working with all of our public safety partners and the County Office of Emergency Services to prepare together and respond together to keep the roadways, so Caltrans is on their toes, fully staffed to respond this week to any incidents that might happen on the state highway system.”
In Santa Maria, it’s a similar story with the city primed to respond to any storm related issues later in the week.
“We are fully staffed,” said Hector Perales, Santa Maria Public Works Street Operations Manager. “If situations arise regarding flooding throughout the city, we do have an on call person and we’re, able to respond to these flooding situations wherever they may be throughout the city.”
On Monday, crew members with the Santa Maria Utilities Department spent part of the day completing some last minute preparations before the incoming rain arrives in a few hours.
“There is some work ahead of time,” said Perales. “The Utilities Department is cleaning out storm drains, in different areas to prepare for the rain that’s coming, just to prevent blockage and keep the water flowing where it’s supposed to go.”
The Santa Barbara County Public Works Department said Monday crew members were also getting prepped for the storm.
Maintenance crews are scheduled as normal during the storm patrolling and construction and engineering staff will be available to provide support if necessary.
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