Crews have been working for months in San Luis Obispo County to prepare for more rain. County officials say they believe that storm preparedness paid off this week.
“This was absolutely by far the most work that we've done," said Joshua Roberts, with the County of San Luis Obispo Public Works. "Getting ready for storm season and cleaning up from last storm season. “
Storms in January and March this year left millions of dollars in damages to the city of San Luis Obispo and surrounding areas, but according to Roberts, this encouraged them to address the aftermath and prepare for another season of rain.
“We used pretty much every contractor in the county to help us do road repair and clean up efforts throughout the spring and summer and now into fall,” Roberts tells me.
He reports 54 service calls to San Luis Obispo County related to storms this week, including potholes, downed trees, washouts, and localized flooding. However, it's a significant improvement compared to previous months.
“No major issues on county roadways." Roberts expresses. "We didn't see any road closures, any major washouts, nothing like we saw a year ago.”
And despite the heavy rainfall, the San Luis Obispo City Fire Department experienced an unproblematic week. James Blattler, expresses confidence in their efforts to reduce the risk of flooding.
“We're confident that the work we've done over the past many months has reduced the risk of flooding throughout our entire community,” Blattler tells me.
He shares recent projects focused on clearing silt and debris in creek systems and ensuring areas affected by the Lizzie Fire in October were free from landslide and flooding risks.
“Within a week of that fire, we had a team of geotechnical experts and engineers that were on site to test the soils, take a look at the burn intensity, which might impact the probability of flooding or debris flow.”
Both departments have learned from last year's major storms, emphasizing the importance of preparation. They tell me their hard work has paid off, and they are now better equipped to respond to the community's needs.
“A lot of those items have been worked on over the past year to help make sure that we do a better job at responding to and meeting the needs of the community,” Blattler says.
For more information on storm preparedness or emergency alert information click here.
