Emergency officials are on alert in San Luis Obispo County throughout the weekend. One of the more concerning portions of the storm is the wind, possibly knocking over trees.
“When we saw the storms coming in, we just sent out an email to all our partners and informed them we were duty officer status during the rain storms,” Joe Guzzardi said, SLO County Emergency Services Manager. “Should anything come up, then we’ll get together and deal with whatever might happen.”
The county will be on call throughout the weekend. With a saturated ground from previous storms and high winds, trees could be more susceptible to being knocked down. Crews will also keep an eye on the levee in Arroyo Grande.
“That would be my biggest concern is that we might see more trees go down just because of the conditions. The fact that the ground is wet, we’re still getting rain, and the winds are going to be fairly significant,” Guzzardi said.
With the rain comes green hillsides and smiles on the faces of winemakers.
“Go out, dancing and singing in the rain, we’re loving it,” Jac Jacobs said with a grin.
Jacobs is a winemaker at the Kelsey See Canyon Vineyards. The rainy season stands in stark contrast to the drought from a few years ago. It created a number of effects on the wine industry. Jacobs recalled the effect it had on Kelsey See Canyon.
“It was really just devastating,” he said. “As a winery, you have projections on sales. We were looking for three tons of grapes from a particular vineyard. We ended up with half a ton or less. We’re looking three years down the road when that wine is going to be sold, that really puts a dent in what you’re doing.”
Jacobs says seeing rain in the forecast provides another promising year.
“We’re just looking to rebuild the groundwater and the last couple of years. The harvests keep getting better, not only in quality but in quantity, some really healthy vineyards.”
