The park announced the closure after 11 a.m. PST Monday, saying “both entrances are closed at this time and will reopen when the conditions clear.”
“Torrential downpours and high winds are creating extremely hazardous conditions on park roads and trails,” the park’s website says.
The park has nearly exceeded its annual rainfall averages less than 10 days into the new year. Wind gusts upwards of 60mph have caused rocks and trees to fall.
“With rainfall forecasted to increase and intensify and conditions expected to worsen, Pinnacles will close effective immediately until such hazards are mitigated,” the website says, a reopening date was not provided.
All roads and park trails are closed to visitors at this time. However, the campground on the east side will remain open to visitors with existing reservations.
Pinnacles is located near Soledad, east of the Salinas Valley.
Santa Cruz is one of several northern California counties under a flood advisory until 3:45 p.m. EST, according to the National Weather Service.
The San Lorenzo River in downtown Santa Cruz was flooded Monday.
California Highway Patrol in Santa Cruz closed a lane of SR-1 south of River street due to the rapid flooding.
CalFire also reported damage at the Brown Valley Road Bridge at Via Del Sol. The bridge collapsed into a rapidly flowing stream.
Downed trees also caused road closures across the county. CHP is advising travelers to avoid the areas with damaged roads.
A mudslide blocked roadways, closing SR-9 and Holiday Lane and southbound SR-17 south of Glenwood Drive.
Two Red Cross shelters have been set up in Santa Cruz County, at the Watsonville Salvation Army on Union Street and at the JJ Crosetti Building at the Santa Cruz County Fairground.
“Immediate Evacuation Order for all of Montecito, parts of Carpinteria, Summerland & City of Santa Barbara. LEAVE NOW,” Montecito Fire Department tweeted a short time ago.
Montecito Fire said the city received over five inches of rain since 3 a.m. Monday morning.
“The heaviest rain is yet to come this afternoon and evening, the fire department said earlier. “If your home is within the evacuation order area, please leave now.”
Evacuation orders have also been issued for Toro Canyon, Sycamore Canyon and Padaro Lane, according to Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management.
An Evacuation Center is open at the Wake Center, located at 300 N. Turnpike Rd, Santa Barbara.
The loop shows lightning as the system swirls toward the West Coast. The National Weather Service says this round of storms will arrive “later tonight and Tuesday.” Meanwhile, the Atmoshperic River continues to bring heavy rain, snow and strong wind across much of the state Monday.
The National Weather Service (NWS) predicts between five and seven feet of snow, or 60 to 84 inches, above 8,000 feet.
Areas between 7,000 and 8,000 feet can expect three to five feet of snow. Two to three feet of snow is expected at areas between 6,000 and 7,000 feet.
A winter storm warning is in effect for the Sierra Nevada above 6,000 feet until 4 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to NWS Hanford.
Major snowfall and wind gusts up to 60 mph are also expected on exposed ridgetops and near the crest of the mountain.
Resort Impacts:
Dodge Ridge Mountain Ski Resort closed Monday due to high winds and heavy snowfall.
“Due to blizzard conditions, including extremely high winds and heavy, wet snowfall, Dodge Ridge will unfortunately be closed for the day, with access to the mountain and chairlift operations unavailable,” the resort said on its website.
The resort, located in Pinecrest, CA, received 11 inches of snow overnight and expects to get 13 to 21 inches by the end of the day Monday.
In Southern California, Big Bear Mountain Resort remains open and busy Monday.
The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office issued the order around 10:30 a.m. PST, urging residents to “please stay indoors and do not attempt to cross any standing or moving water.”
The areas under the order were also impacted by the Oak Fire, which burned nearly 20,000 acres in Mariposa County and the Sierra National Forest last summer.
The order includes:
Carter Rd Jerserydale Rd from Wild Dove Rd to Hites Cove Rd Anton Rd
Sheriff’s officials and search and rescue teams are on standby as more rain is expected today.
Monday was set to be the first day of Cal Poly’s winter quarter.
All in-person and virtual classes were canceled and all non-essential functions will be closed, the school said in an alert.
Campus officials are expected to provide an update for Tuesday’s classes later.
Sacramento County remains the hardest-hit, right now an estimated 37,000 customers remain without power. It is a major improvement from Sunday, when upwards of 345,000 Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) customers were in the dark.
“While our crews made significant progress restoring power today, the destruction caused by some of the highest winds Sacramento has seen in decades means many customers will experience extended outages,” SMUD tweeted Sunday.
SMUD has double the amount of crews at work with more arriving Monday.
“We’ll continue to work around the clock to restore power safely and as quickly as possible.”
More than 15,700 customers are also without power in Monterey County.
As of 10:30 a.m. PST Monday, some 36,000 customers are still in the dark in Sacramento County alone. One video shared with KCRA-TV shows power lines blowing up in front of a Sacramento home on Sunday night.
Crews are up against another round of severe weather as they work to cleanup the debris and restore power. Strong winds are expected today along with rain and snow in the high-elevations.
Rain continued early Monday, causing major backups along I-80 in Sacramento County during the busy morning commute.
Cal Trans crews are now working to unclog the storm drains on the highway. Video shows most of the highway flooded in one direction, as crews worked in knee-deep water.
“Out of an abundance of caution, residents must leave now before roads become impassable,” the county said Sunday. “Rising water may spill over onto the nearest roadways and cut off access to leave the area. Last weekend, exit routes flooded quickly for residents leaving Wilton, so we are urging residents to get out now.”
The county said more rain and wind in the 50 to 60 mph range are forecast through Monday.
The road boundaries for the Wilton area evacuation order:
Northbound: Jackson Rd/Hwy 16 Eastbound: Grant Line Rd, south to Bond Rd, south to Hwy 99 Southbound: Arno Rd, west to Alta Mesa Rd, south to Twin Cities Rd, west to Clay Station Rd Westbound: Clay Station Rd, north about 4 miles, then northwest to Jackson Rd/Hwy 16
An evacuation center has been established at the Sacramento Asian Sports Foundation.
Leland Schneider with the Reclamation District 800 told KOVR-TV that a rock wall was built up under the Wilton Bridge to protect the road from erosion due to rising water from the Cosumnes River.
“That water would just erode, and it would go right around the bridge embankment, and this whole road would collapse,” Schneider said. “That’s what we were trying to avoid.”
The park in Valencia made the announcement this morning, saying anyone who purchased tickets for today can use them any other day this year.
Los Angeles County is currently under a wind advisory from noon to 10 p.m. PST Monday, according to Weather Channel.
There is also a flood watch in effect throughout the county until Tuesday evening due to excessive rainfall.
A section of Margo Dodd Park in Pismo Beach was closed over the weekend after a large crack was reported behind a bench on the cliffside.
There is bluff damage at Ocean Blvd. and Palisade Ave. City officials warned residents it was “not safe to come out here,” as the area is subject to erosion.
“Please stay away from the bluff as it is not safe,” the City of Pismo Beach wrote on Facebook. “Crews are securing the area and preparing for the pending sliding of the cliff in this area.”
Pismo Beach is located in the southern portion of San Luis Obispo County.
Much of Santa Cruz County is under a flood warning until 12:15 p.m. PST Monday.
Flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood-prone locations “is imminent or occurring” from earlier rainfall. The NWS said it will take “several hours” for all of the water from these storms to work through local drainage systems in urban areas.
Areas expected to experience flooding include: Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Corralitos, Scotts Valley, Capitola, Live Oak, Felton, Ben Lomond, Soquel, Twin Lakes, Aptos, Boulder Creek, Rio Del Mar, Eureka Canyon Road, Brown Valley Road, Freedom, Amesti, Interlaken, Day Valley and Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley.
Other areas of Santa Cruz County are under a flash food warning until 9:45 p.m. PST Monday.
Life threatening flash-flooding is possible in areas including: Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Corralitos, Scotts Valley, Capitola, Live Oak, Felton, Ben Lomond, Soquel, Twin Lakes, Aptos, Boulder Creek, Rio Del Mar, Eureka Canyon Road, Brown Valley Road, Freedom, Amesti, Interlaken, Lexington Hills and Day Valley.
A flash flood warning was also issued for Monterey County until 8:30 a.m. PST.
Many rivers are also under flood warnings.
In Sonoma County, minor flooding is forecast for the Russian River at Johnsons Beach near Guerneville.
In Santa Clara County, minor flooding is forecasted for the Guadalupe River above the Almaden Expressway.
Moderate flooding is expected around Carmel River at Robles Del Rio in Monterey County.
Minor flooding is also forecast for the Pajaro River, affecting Monterey, Santa Clara, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties. Up north, minor flooding is possible from the Cosumnes River in parts of Sacramento, El Dorado and Amador Counties. Flooding from the Russian River may impact areas near Hopland in Mendocino County and Johnson Beach near Guerneville in Sonoma County.
Several other areas throughout the state remain under a flood advisory or flood watch until at least Tuesday morning.
California Governor Gavin Newsom requested the federal aid Sunday, asking the White House for federal support to help ongoing storm response and recovery efforts amid flooding, strong winds and mudslides.
Newsom said 12 Californians have died from storm-related impacts since late December.
“We are in the middle of a deadly barrage of winter storms – and California is using every resource at its disposal to protect lives and limit damage,” Newsom said in a statement Sunday. “We are taking the threat from these storms seriously, and want to make sure that Californians stay vigilant as more storms head our way.”
Biden directed FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts to alleviate hardship and suffering caused by the emergency, provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe.
Those counties impacted include: El Dorado, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Stanislaus and Ventura.
Newsom’s office said this federal aid will help “immediately access more resources and personnel to help Californians.”
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office issued the order just after 7:30 a.m. PST Monday, urging residents in the evacuation zone to “quickly and calmly evacuate.”
“If you have large animals or needextra time to evacuate, now is the time to do so,” the office tweeted.
A map of impacted areas can be viewed here.
Emergency Shelter for Residents: Monterey County Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairground Rd, Monterey, CA. Temporary Evacuation Point: Carmel Valley Library Animal Shelter: The office points residents to call the SPCA at 831-373-2631.
Powerful waves snapped the iconic Capitola Wharf in half. The landmark, which usually sits some 20 feet above the water, will need major repair.
The Capitola Village was also hit hard. Restaurants and businesses in the popular tourist destination were forced to close. Chairs and tables were seen toppled in front of spots like Zelda’s on the Beach, as sandbags lined the front of the restaurant.
The storm also caused high tide in Santa Barbara, seen below from the Santa Barbara Yacht Club.
Rough surf also hit Rodeo Beach up north in Sausalito.
According the PowerOutage.us, 127,973 customers across the state are experiencing outages Monday, as of 7:30 a.m. PST.
Most of those experiencing outages, about 95,000, are Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) customers.
PG&E said the weather is delivering “significant precipitation and heavy winds” causing downed trees, flooding and road closures and damage to powerlines.
They are warning customers that power outages are likely and urging them to take necessary safety tips seriously.
An additional 500 PG&E personnel will join the current response effort to restore power in impacted areas.
