Rough winter for residents in Santa Cruz Mountains

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KTVU) - Rain hit the Bay Area hard on Thursday, pouring in the communities of Felton and Ben Lomand in the Santa Cruz Mountains. All the rain prompted concerns among homeowners of more flooding and more damage.

On Thursday night, the San Lorenzo River rose rapidly. It was bad news for Paul Peterson who was sweeping mud out of his garage.

“All can do is hose it down and use a squeegee it out,” said Peterson. “But most of the stuff that's in there is going to be in the garbage.”

His home is among 30 homes in in a Felton neighborhood, evacuated after flooding earlier this week. The river reached 23 feet well above the flood threshold of 16 feet. It spilled over its banks going down Circle Drive where Peterson lives.

Nearly four feet of water went into his house. His basement is now caked in mud.

Neighbor Ron Oliveira plans to put in bladder systems by the doors to avoid water intrusion after his Harley Davidsons in his garage were submerged in water Tuesday.

“I’m concerned,” said Oliveira. “We take precautions but you can't stop it.”

There were more precautions at Valley Churches United in Ben Lomand. It’s a nonprofit that provides disaster relief services.

“We’ve had a lot of people coming for the sand and the sandbags,” said Lynn Robinson of Valley Churches United. “We hardly have any sand left but we have bags.”

All eyes are on Love Creek after it rose above its banks, flooding the nonprofit's building downstairs. The nonprofit salvaged what food they could. Commercial fans are now blowing to control what they call-enough damage.

“There's a lot of rain that can come through and this is the year we are experiencing it,” said Robinson. “We know there's a dry spell next week and I’m assuming everyone is waiting for that as much as we are.”