Flooding forces evacuations, road closures on Lovers Lane

Twenty two county residents were at an evacuation center set up at the Veterans Memorial Building early Wednesday morning after Pacheco Creek flooded, threatening some homes along Lovers Lane — which officials closed — and closing San Felipe Road between Highway 152 and Fairview/Shore roads at Dunneville. Just after 6 a.m., San Benito County Emergency Services Director Kevin O’Neill told BenitoLink that even more people were on the way to the center, set up by the American Red Cross to offer a warm, dry place for people to wait out the water. 

The voluntary evacuations were done by the Hollister Fire Department in conjunction with the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office between 2:30 and 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning. CalFire also was on hand to help. A reverse 911 call was sent out to impacted residents.

“If the flood water’s impacting them, they’re leaving,” O’Neill said. “Some houses have up to 3 or 3-and-a-half feet of water near them.”

Officials had been keeping a close eye on Pacheco Creek, which has been known to flood during heavy rains. 

“The National Weather Service has flood guages on the creek,” O’Neill said. “It was estimated to peak at 4 a.m. but we started to receive 911 calls before that,” with a vehicle stalled out and not able to get through. That driver was rescued by the San Jose Fire Department’s swift water team.

“(Pacheco Creek) floods fairly regularly, where there have to be evacuations,” O’Neill said. “The road floods pretty much every rain, but not to the point that it impacts homes.”

The downtown Hollister evacuation center is staffed by the Red Cross, Vet’s Hall staffers and the Office of Emergency Services. Residents are being offered coffee, water, snacks and cots if they want to rest. 

“Normally, if something like this happens at 8 p.m., it’s a place they can stay the night,” O’Neill said, noting that the shelter will be open as long as needed and the county and the Red Cross will help impacted residents get hotels tonight, if needed.

O’Neill was not sure how long the evacuations would last, though officials are monitoring the situation from an incident command area set up at nearby Dunneville Restaurant on the corner of Shore and San Felipe.

San Benito County District Attorney Candice Hooper, who lives on Lovers Lane and is familiar with its proclivity to flood, told BenitoLink on Wednesday morning that she had not chosen to evacuate as of just after 6 a.m.

“We’re good,” she said. “Pastures flooded and cattle have been around the house since Saturday. Water is up near the house but still has a long way to go before the house is affected.”

Hooper said she was waiting for daylight to see what the road was like.

Spring Grove School let parents know that buses would not be going down Lovers Lane or San Felipe Road this morning, with all stops made along Shore Road.

Check back with BenitoLink for updates.