SAN MARTIN
– Monday’s heavy rain and strong winds spelled trouble for
drivers and Santa Cruz foothill residents, causing highway wrecks
and cutting off power to 453 customers west of Morgan Hill.
SAN MARTIN – Monday’s heavy rain and strong winds spelled trouble for drivers and Santa Cruz foothill residents, causing highway wrecks and cutting off power to 453 customers west of Morgan Hill.
On the other hand, the rains made Santa Clara Valley Water District staff hopeful for full reservoirs to meet summer water needs.
Gilroy received 1.1 inches of rain between 9 a.m. Monday and 9 a.m. Tuesday, as measured by the Gilroy Fire Department. The National Weather Service reported wind gusts of up to 34 mph in San Jose. Wind speeds were not available for Gilroy and Morgan Hill.
Showers are expected to continue today, easing up as the day progresses. There will be lingering showers tonight, according to the National Weather Service. Wednesday and Thursday will be partly cloudy and light showers may return on Friday.
The serious part of the storm had only just begun when wind blew down a tree or tree limb onto an electric line on Croy Road at 8:59 a.m., according to the California Department of Forestry, which sent firefighters to the scene. The break caused 453 Pacific Gas & Electric customers to lose power until just after 5:38 p.m., PG&E spokesman Jeff Smith said. The affected homes were on Llagas Road and Oak Glen Road between Llagas Creek Drive and Uvas Road, Smith said.
Meanwhile, rain buildup on the roads caused eight high-speed accidents throughout the California Highway Patrol region that includes south Santa Clara and north San Benito counties. Five of these wrecks took place between Morgan Hill and San Jose and two took place just south of San Juan Bautista. There were no rain-related wrecks in Gilroy, according to city police.
According to CHP Officer Terry Mayes, 63 mph is the threshold speed at which a car will hydroplane with one inch of standing water on a road. Many people do not realize that in heavy rain, the posted 65-mph speed limit on major highways is not safe, Mayes said.
“The moral of the story is, never drive faster than your pontoons will float,” Mayes said.
Water District spokesman Mike DiMarco was encouraged by the storm even though he said “it probably won’t make a difference in the reservoir levels.” Because the ground was not saturated prior to the storm, DiMarco figured the rain would mostly soak into the soil instead of running off into the reservoirs, which are currently 47 percent full.
“Our goal is, by April, when the rainy season ends, to be completely full,” DiMarco said. “For the season, we’re about where we should be for this time of year.
“February and March are historically the wettest time of the year in South County,” DiMarco added. “This storm may be a good omen that those months will live up to their reputation.”
Not everyone was so happy to see the storm.
Two people were injured in auto accidents caused in part by wet highways.
In the worse of the two wrecks, Britton Edward Bonfall, of Saratoga, traveling at a high rate of speed, lost control of his 2001 Chevrolet Blazer at about 11 a.m. in the passing lane of southbound Highway 85 between Cottle Road and U.S. 101 in South San Jose, according to CHP. The Blazer hydroplaned across three lanes and off the right edge of the highway, overturned and slid down an embankment. Bonfall, 35, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle and sustained major injuries. He was taken to San Jose Medical Center, but no report on his condition was available as of press time.
In another accident, Brenda Hernandez, 23, of San Jose, crawled out of her overturned 1996 Nissan 300ZX after losing control of the sports car at about 10:25 a.m. on southbound U.S. 101 south of the Metcalf exit in Coyote, according to CHP. Hernandez complained of pain and was taken to the Kaiser Santa Teresa hospital.
There were also several car accidents in which no one was injured:
• a solo crash at 8 a.m. on the connector ramp from 101 to 85 in south San Jose,
• a car that hit a guardrail at 9:10 a.m. on southbound 101, north of the Coyote Creek bridge and Morgan Hill,
• a Gilroy woman whose car collided with that of a Fresno man at 11:30 a.m. on U.S. 101, south of the Bailey Avenue overpass being constructed in Coyote,
• a vehicle that crashed into a center divider on southbound 101 about a mile south of the San Juan Bautista exit,
• and a vehicle that went off 101 northbound and crashed into a tree about a mile south of the San Juan Bautista exit.
