This week’s storms have led to dangerous conditions in the Salinas River.
"When a storm comes through, particularly one like we saw the last several days, where it's a high amount of rain in a short period of time, the river kind of turns into a raging river, and it's much more dangerous," said Anita Konopa, San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services spokesperson.
The Salinas River, which runs through Paso Robles, is typically pretty dry, but when storms like the one we experienced this week come through the area, the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services says it becomes dangerous, especially for those living in encampments in the riverbed.
"We go down there with our community teams and try to encourage them to leave. Paso Robles goes down there and does the same thing, but it's hard sometimes," Konopa said.
Paso Robles' Homeless Services Manager says they work on getting people out of the riverbed ahead of the storm and into one of their shelters.
"It's unsafe to be outside and the city recognizes that, so the service is really for the betterment of our whole community, to ensure that everyone in our community has access to a warm shelter," said Ashlee Hernandez, Paso Robles Homeless Services Manager.
In Paso Robles, there are two options for warming shelters, one at the ECHO location on Black Oak Rd. and the other rotates through churches and is run by a group of volunteers called "Paso Cares." Both options usually have about 10 beds available.
"I've had an average about seven people on each night, so not too bad, but I'm happy to see people," said Heidi Marks from Paso Cares.
Despite efforts to get people out of the riverbed early, incidents still happen. On Wednesday, two people and several dogs were rescued from the rising water.
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Konopa says conditions will remain dangerous for a little while.
"Once the rain stops, that does not mean that the river is down... But as all of that water is running into the river, we continue to see over a period of time that the water and the river and the levels continue to go up," she said.
