Thousands in Santa Cruz, San Mateo counties must evacuate over mudslide fears

Evacuation orders in effect for Santa Cruz Mountains

Evacuation orders in effect for Santa Cruz Mountains including Ben Lomond, Felton and Boulder Creek. Maureen Naylor reports

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Thousands of people are under evacuation orders in San Mateo County and the Santa Cruz mountains with more inches of rain expected later on Tuesday.

There are about 5,000 people in the evacuation zone, preparing for what could be one of the wettest weeks in years. People living in Felton, Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek -- areas scarred by the summer's CZU Lightning Complex Fire -- are worried about possible mudslides.

"There's a reason so many people are evacuated because you can see the burnout areas. That's going to come down," said Douglas McKinney of Boulder Creek.

McKinney is not in the evacuation zone but spent Tuesday preparing for the incoming storm by getting gas for his three generators.

"Actually we need more rain. Bring it on," he said.

The potentially treacherous conditions led authorities to order evacuations in parts of San Mateo County on Tuesday as well. The communities of Loma Mar, Dearborn Park and Butano Canyon as well as Butano and Año Nuevo state park were among the areas that Cal Fire and county agencies ordered to be emptied.

"Due to forecast rainfall amount, there is an increased risk of potential debris flow," the joint statement tweeted by Cal Fire said.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputies have been knocking on doors, telling people they must evacuate. Some are listening. Some are not.

"We knew it was gonna be coming," said Adam Legros, who evacuated. "Just all the news outlets and everything. All the science behind it. We knew there was going to be this issue, if we had big rains again."

Storm coming, cloud rain

Steve Paulson said a storm is coming. This afternoon will see cloud and rain.

Santa Cruz County leaders say while mudflows are a risk every season, this year is especially concerning because of the large burn scars.

The sheriff's office says deputies will be routinely checking the evacuation zone every 12 hours for anyone who is stuck or ends up staying behind.

EVACUATION INFORMATION:

For the latest evacuation order and warning information, refer to the Cal Fire San Mateo and Santa Cruz unit's Twitter page.

A map that shows which zone you live in is available at community.zonehaven.com.

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