Crews rescue women trapped at flooded Castro Valley golf course
CASTRO VALLEY, Calif. (KGO) -- A group of women had to be rescued from flooding during a luncheon in Castro Valley as heavy rains drenched the Bay Area on Tuesday.
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The Redwood Canyon Golf Course is underwater. An East Bay Regional Parks police lieutenant said this is the first time he's seen it like this in his 17 years with the district.
Thanks to an overflowing creek, a luncheon for retired schoolteachers turned into a rescue mission for the Alameda County Fire Department. After San Leandro Creek burst its banks and flooded most of the golf course, it left the clubhouse cut off just as the women were arriving for lunch.
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"It was really unbelievable because this is Castro Valley," one woman said.
The Alameda County Fire Department came to the rescue, along with East Bay Regional Parks police and used their rigs to drive the women to safety.
"So there were seven of us in there and we seven got a lunch, good lunch," CA Retired Teachers Association's Marian Dobbleare said, laughing.
Earlier in Martinez, it was a close call for Earl Heaps, asleep in his home when it sounded like the sky was falling. "All of a sudden, I thought a plane crashed," he said.
It wasn't a plane but a 100-year live oak tree that used to be firmly planted in Heaps' backyard. Now it's strewn across Tahoe Way, taking down the power lines with it.
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"It was a live oak in my backyard. It came down and took my fence and everything out," Heaps said. It didn't hit his house, luckily.
"I heard a big old crash and the whole house shook. I knew had come down so that was quite an awakening and a little scary but nobody got hurt and no cars are crushed. Nobody got hurt so I'm happy about that but sad about the trees," neighbor Brent Alexander said.
The water still has not receded at the Redwood Canyon Golf Course. There was some heavy equipment there for a time trying to clear things out but so far, that doesn't seem to be helping.
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