Sunday’s weather seemed delightful to some….
“Im here for this weather, its a beautiful rainy day!" Emma Reasner, who lives in Nipomo said.
But as the storm crossing over California continued to intensify, officials at the Harford Pier over in Avila Beach, were prompted to express its severity.
“We have heavy winds, heavier winds than we've experienced here in a long time with a mix of giant south swell." Dax Theis, Harbor Patrol Officer said. "So although it's pretty neat to come and look at Mother Nature, today is not a very safe day to do so.“
At the pier early Sunday morning, two floating log camels detached from the pier due to the strong waves.
Theis said attaching these back to the pier is extremely important as they could damage the pier itself or become a hazard for mooring boats out in the ocean.
Maintenance officers worked to attach the camels again, a tricky and time-consuming job while keeping an eye out for occupied boats, boats that were broken free, and the intensity of the wind.
“My partner and I are monitoring all the boats in our harbor right now," Theis said. "We do have two of them that are occupied by commercial fishermen. So that's a concern. If they were to break free, then we have to go out there and save their life.”
Heading inland in Arroyo Grande, some trees were down without causing much damage, however, in other areas, intense winds brought down a eucalyptus tree on The Pike road, which according to a PG&E spokesperson broke 10 power poles and stopped power to more than 6,500 customers.
This urged emergency services to enact a shelter-in-place order for the area, which was lifted a few hours later.
Residents like Lisa Avelar, who lives near the affected street, heard the moment the poles came down.
“I was with my daughter and we both heard a loud thud and I screamed and that’s when the power went out,” Avilar said.
She is among the thousands of PG&E customers within San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties who lost power due to the high winds hitting the Central Coast on Sunday.
PG&E immediately dispatched crews to configure circuits on The Pike and transfer customers to other circuits to regain power. Due to the severity of the damage done on the street, however, it was difficult to determine the estimated time for restoration.
PG&E mentioned that all hands were on deck, with crews from out of the area on standby, despite it being the weekend, to handle the situation both up north and down in California.
Power on The Pike was restored by 5 p.m. on Sunday and the shelter-in-place was lifted.
