Residents living near Pacheco Creek recover after record flood levels

HOLLISTER, Calif. (KGO) -- Hundreds of Hollister residents spent the day trying to clear water from the Pacheco Creek out of the homes and roadways.

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Wednesday's storms left behind lots of standing water and huge puddles throughout San Benito County. The Pacheco Creek rose 20 feet, flooding homes, farmland and people's backyards.

"The floors are pretty saturated with water. The unfortunate thing is we were remodeling so we had a lot of stuff on the ground," said John Solis who lives in Hollister.

Valerie Musbach is a rescuer who willingly took in 18 cows and four horses from flooded pastures in the area. "You couldn't tell how deep it was anywhere, and there were little rivers going. We were running around the place trying to get the cattle. I went in hip deep," said Musbach.

"There was nothing keeping them between the roads, there's little lakes everywhere and one of then got killed," she added.

San Benito Water District says the creek got backed up from overgrown brush and debris blocking the flow, so the water had nowhere to go but into residential areas.

"It overflowed and there's a lot of debris and it needed to be cleaned up," said Solis.

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But most residents say they are aware that even more rain is in the forecast ahead.