Quick Take
The storm had calmed by Monday morning, but more than 20,000 Santa Cruz County residents were still out of power and some roads remained closed. One person died in Boulder Creek after suffering fatal injuries when a tree fell on their house.
More than 20,000 Santa Cruz County residents were still out of power late Monday morning and a few major roadways were closed Monday morning as locals began to recover after Sunday’s heavy windstorm.
Tragedy struck in Boulder Creek on Sunday afternoon, where a tree fell onto a home on the 14100 block of Highway 9. One resident got out of the house, but one was trapped inside. According to Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ashley Keehn, deputies and fire crews responded to the scene at 3:20 p.m., but the resident trapped in the house had sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Monday afternoon, Keehn told Lookout that the victim has been identified as Robert Brainard III of Boulder Creek. He was 45.
Some major roads in the county were still affected by the storm Monday morning. In the Santa Cruz Mountains, Highway 35 at Bear Creek Road and Empire Grade at Bonnywood Way were both fully closed due to downed trees and powerlines. There was currently no estimated reopening time for either road at publication time.
In Santa Cruz, East Cliff Drive near Twin Lakes Beach is closed due to flooding, with no estimated reopening time. Bike and pedestrian access was closed along West Cliff Drive between Woodrow Avenue and David Way due to high wind and high surf advisories.
Visit the California Highway Patrol local detachment’s X (formerly Twitter) page for updates, and click here for the latest news on county-maintained roads.
After taking a hit during December’s storm surge, the end of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf sustained further damage Sunday, which closed one of the restrooms and the sea lion viewing holes until there is a repair plan. The rest of the wharf is open.
At least five Santa Cruz County schools closed, with three shifting to online instruction, on Monday. School officials take many factors into consideration before deciding to close down a school for the day, such as water access and safety. A power outage isn’t enough on its own to legally close down a school, according to the state’s education code.
On Monday, San Lorenzo Valley Unified’s Boulder Creek Elementary and Mountain Elementary School District (a single school) closed down, while three Pajaro Valley Unified schools — Bradley Elementary, Pajaro Valley High and Renaissance High — closed but had online instruction Monday.
All schools in the Santa Cruz City Schools district were open.
Mountain Elementary’s superintendent, Megan Tresham, said the power outage limited the district’s ability to access its well pumps and that caused the closure.
Several districts reported some fallen trees but no major damages.
Waterfront restaurants throughout the county did not sustain heavy damage or flooding, like they did in previous storms. But the weather left its mark nonetheless. In Rio Del Mar, Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen Beachside and Venus Pie Trap closed on Sunday due to high winds, and remained closed on Monday due to a power outage. As of 2 p.m. Monday, owner Sean Venus did not have an update on when it would come back on, and had moved all of his cold storage offsite.
The Dolphin Restaurant sits at the end of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, directly above several pilings broken in the December surge. A few weeks ago, owner Mark Gilbert was optimistic that the restaurant might be able to reopen within a few months. After Sunday’s storm and resulting damage, he’s less sure.
“It doesn’t look good for the Dolphin. There’s just a ton of work to be done. I don’t think [the city has] formed a plan yet,” Gilbert said Monday. “Structurally, the Dolphin could be fixed, but you’d have to cut off part of the building. But it’s so small that you’re not really going to save too much.”
Calls to restaurant owners in Capitola were not returned by Monday afternoon.
National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Walbrun noted that rain had slowed down significantly since Sunday morning. In the 24 hours between late Sunday morning and late Monday morning, Ben Lomond saw just over 1 inch of rain, despite the fact that it is usually one of the wettest county locations during storms.
Overall, in the 48 hours between Saturday afternoon and Monday afternoon, lower county elevations saw 2 to 2.5 inches of rain, while the Santa Cruz Mountains saw between 4 inches and 6 inches.
Walbrun added that winds peaked late Sunday afternoon, when gusts were measured between 50 and 60 mph across most of the county. Monday had been much calmer thus far, and should stay that way.
“You might see the occasional 25 mph gust,” said Walbrun. “But conditions will be normal otherwise.”
The county will see scattered rain throughout the week, but it will be rather light. Walbrun said that it could total about an inch, “but that may be on the high end.”
For an overview of everything from incoming weather to stream gauges and power outages, visit the county’s map-based, interactive situational awareness platform here.
Sign up for local emergency alerts at CruzAware. For more preparation tips, visit the Office of Response, Recovery and Resilience website.
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FOR THE RECORD: This story has been updated with comments from waterfront restaurant owners.
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