Evacuation warnings and advisories are in effect as this strong winter storm begins to drench Ventura County.
There is also a Flood Watch in effect for Ventura County until Thursday evening as residents brace for much heavier rain than expected.
“I got a house that around the garage… it might get pretty bad. If it rains really hard, it gets flooded out. I’m trying to take all precautions,” said Ventura resident Loren Allen.
Rachel Montejano and her family needed help packing and carrying 10 sandbags for her and her mother’s home, a property she says is prone to flooding.
“I hear it’s going to be really bad, but it doesn’t look so bad right now. Like drizzle. It can get worse, but I’m not worried about it. I don’t think it’s going to be that bad. Hopefully. But my mom’s worried about it, so I’ve got to take care of my mom,” said Montejano.
Over at the Ventura Beach RV Resort, they’ve also got their sandbags ready. The Manager, Kiley, says they’re reinforcing some structures with metal plates. But he says that it’s not the water he’s worried about.
“The mud does all the damage. Last time that we flooded out, we were three months digging out of the mud. The store that you’re standing in right now was within two feet of mud throughout the store, the park had two feet of mud throughout the entire park,” Kiley said.
The Ventura County Fire Department says they’ve upstaffed an additional 50 firefighters to be prepared for this storm.
“We anticipate the storm to hit overnight — hours 2 a.m. to 9 a.m. So residents in flood-prone areas, have a plan. Know what you’re going to do when an evacuation order is given. Anticipate that it could happen when the power is out or when it’s dark outside,” said the agency’s spokesperson, Andrew Dowd.
Ventura County fire officials say residents should make sure to register at vcalert.org. This is the system they use to notify residents in case of evacuations.