With another winter storm slamming the Central Coast, Cal Poly is seeing another round of heavy rains and winds leading to flooding around campus.
Rain began to fall Wednesday and has continued to fall off and on around San Luis Obispo. A large amount of rainfall in a short period of time is creating the risk of flash floods in San Luis Obispo and on Cal Poly’s campus. Director for Operations in Facilities Services, Scott Loosley said there was some flooding around campus but facilities quickly cleared debris to allow water to drain.
There was some particularly high flooding at the upper sports complex.
“The heavy rate of water filled the reservoir above the complex,” Loosley said. “We opened the gates and allowed the water to be drained, clearing the water.”
The Upper Sports Complex is closed, stay dry Mustangs! #CalPolyNow pic.twitter.com/Ps9UsHDPiK
— Cal Poly (@CalPoly) January 20, 2017
Around San Luis Obispo county, CHP and Cal Fire are keeping a close eye on Avila Beach Drive near the Avila Beach Hot Springs where the San Luis Creek continues to rise. The creek is also catching the eyes of downtown residents as it rises to levels not seen in years.
Avila Dr closed between hwy 101 and San Luis Bay Dr due to flooding. Will be evacuating Sycamore Mineral Springs. #SycamoreIC more to follow
— CAL FIRE SLO (@CALFIRE_SLO) January 20, 2017
Traffic along Highway 101 in Pismo Beach came to a crawl early this morning as crews attempted to remove debris and mud near the Price Street off ramp. Also in Pismo Beach, guests at the SeaCrest Oceanfront Hotel were evacuated Friday morning when the hotel reportedly flooded from the heavy amount of water.
Back at Cal Poly, Loosely said there have not been any road closures on campus because of water. The main issue facilities were worried about was debris blockage of drains.
“We have had locations where we sent workers to pick up debris on campus,” Loosley said. “There were some blockage in front of the towers on Grand Avenue as well as a pool of water by Spanos Stadium.”
Loosely did say some buildings flooded. The Cotchette Education Building (building 2) reported flooding in the basement and the lower level of Engineering West (building 21) flooded due to debris blocking drainage systems.
The wet weather will continue through the weekend and into the middle of next week.