Video: San Lorenzo River overflows into Felton neighborhood

FELTON -- The rain swollen San Lorenzo River surged into a neighborhood in the Santa Cruz Mountain community of Felton Monday morning, triggering water rescues by local firefighters.

Despite the deadly nature of storms, which have killed at least a dozen people, residents of tiny, flooded Felton remained calm and upbeat.

Christine Patracuola, the owner of Rocky's Cafe for 25 years, handed out free coffee to customers whose homes lacked power Monday. Her staff couldn't come in because of closed roads, including a bridge over the San Lorenzo.

"A little coffee can't hurt anybody," she said. "You can't really change Mother Nature; you just have to roll with the punches and hope you don't get swept up into it."

Nicole Martin, third-generation owner of the Fern River Resort in Felton, said Monday that her clients sipped coffee, sat on cabin porches amid towering redwood trees, and were "enjoying the show" as picnic tables and other debris floated down the swollen San Lorenzo.

The river is usually about 60 feet (18 meters) below the cabins, Martin said, but it crept up to 12 feet (4 meters) from the cabins. Still, Martin said she wasn't worried — her family has owned the property for about 60 years, and her grandfather checked out conditions Monday and shrugged it off.

The resort prepared by getting about 8,000 pounds of sandbags, readying generators, and handing out lanterns to guests who opted to weather the storm in their cabins.

Officials said the river crested at 24.52 feet at 7:45 a.m. near the Felton Grove neighborhood, trapping several residents who ignored the pre-dawn evacuation order delivered over loudspeakers by sheriffs deputies.

Authorities deployed jet skis and a water rescue unit from Ben Lomond as water quickly rose to chest level.

Debris was being carried downstream into Santa Cruz.

The weather service has issued a flood watch for the entire Bay Area into Tuesday. Over the span, forecasters said the valleys will be getting 2-5 inches of rain, the Bay Area hills 4-7 inches and 6-12 inches in the mountains.

"As of writing," weather service forecasters wrote at 5:20 a.m. "We are seeing rainfall rates of 0.5 to 0.75 inchs per hour in some areas of Marin, Sonoma, and Santa Cruz counties. Expect rates within this ballpark to continue through sunrise with precipitation gradually tapering off through the morning for the North Bay."

Adriana Aguilera's family is just one of many affected by the rising San Lorenzo River. The Santa Cruz family was lucky to leave their home early Tuesday. 

"I live on Campbell Street. It's right before you cross the bridge to get to the Boardwalk," said Aguilera. "And yesterday we got a warning saying to get our stuff ready in case we might have to leave."

That's exactly what she, her husband and their children did Tuesday morning.

"Today in the morning, we woke up with the alert to go to higher grounds because the water level was getting high. So we're staying at a hotel," Aguilera said.

The family got help from Nane Alejandrez, the executive director for Barrios Unidos.

"We are used to responding to these emergency things. So people can come to 1817 Soquel Avenue and we can see what we can do to support them," said Alejandrez. "If we don't have the resources, then we go out and refer them to where they might be able to get them."

Meanwhile, Felton Grove residents like Michelle Moleski are hopeful, but ready to evacuate if they have to.

"I'm hoping that it gets a little bit lighter, and it looks like it will be," said Moleski. "But there's still a chance of rain during the next few days – Friday, Saturday, Sunday – that's when it gets risky cause the ground gets saturated."

Aside from the San Lorenzo River, the National Weather Service said, flooding was of concern at the Russian River at Johnson's Beach near Guerneville, Alameda Creek near Niles Canyon, Coyote Creek above Hwy 237 at Milpitas, the Big Sur River, Carmel River at Robles Del Rio and the Guadalupe River above Almaden Expressway.