Storm brings flooding concerns to Santa Cruz Mountains
Damage from the Loma Fire has prompted flooding concerns for this weekend's storm in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
There are flooding concerns in the Santa Cruz Mountains after the charred 4,500 acres.
CAL FIRE says they're ready to respond. This afternoon, they're taking part in a county wide storm meeting with other agencies, such as the sheriff's office, water district and Red Cross, to talk about what to do if there's storm debris, flooding, roads giving out and other issues.
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This storm is a lot bigger than we're used to for the first rain of the season. This makes an area that's burned, like in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a lot more vulnerable to erosion, mudslides and flooding.
CAL FIRE says it's not so much the total amount of rainfall, but how quickly the rain comes that will be the major issue.
"If it's two inches over four days, without any big downpour at any one time, it's probably not going to be the same kind of danger or issues if we had two inches in an hour," said CAL FIRE Division Chief Jim Crawford.
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It's not just about this storm in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a Water Shed Emergency Response Team is testing the soil in the Loma Fire burn area to see if there are any spots where the water can't penetrate. Those test results will come back in about a week, and that will help them plan for the winter. Sand bags are also being made available to help with localized flooding.
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Be sure to download the ABC7 News App to track the rain with Live Doppler 7 HD as it moves into the Bay Area.
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