COLONY BUZZ

Storm Surge Tears Through Atascadero

The Atascadero Lake and Sunken Gardens also sustained amble flooding, as well as many other spots throughout the city.

Design de Cuisine 805, Traffic Records, Raconteur Room, Totum, Gordon’s Good Games, and Andy’s Awesome Arcade on Traffic Way all sustained flooding of 2 to 3 inches when the parking lot behind their businesses became a small lake, leaking into their establishments.

other business owners on her block.

Atascadero canceled its 7th Annual Tamale Festival that was slated for Saturday, January 14 and rescheduled to May 6 due to the severe weather warning and flooding.

An atmospheric river was promised for California, and it delivered plenty of rain and destruction throughout San Luis Obispo County the first part of January.

Due to the rain storm, Atascadero was also put under a Severe Weather Shelter-in-Place Advisory. Over a 24-hour period, Atascadero received 5.24 inches of rain, creating fast-rising creeks and rivers and flooding areas and roads throughout town. Mexican restaurant El Taconazo on Morro Road was flooded with approximately two to three feet of water but

“I sustained heavy flooding through our back door as did many of the businesses we share the block with,” stated Traffic Records owner Manuel Barba. “Due to the unusually large amounts of cardboard and wood crates along with the records themselves, we sustained heavy damage and are working to save all the inventory we are able. Several hundred of our many thousand of LPs were wet along with our racks and bins. We will likely be closed for up to one week to ensure that we can abate any potential mold or Mildew and will have to toss a considerable amount of damaged product.”

“Everyone banded together [it was] pretty cool to watch,” said Specs by Kyla owner Kyla Skinner, who spotted the flooding in the back parking lot and alerted the

Following the storm, the search for 5-year-old Kyle Doan, who was swept away by raging floodwaters near San Miguel continued throughout January. It was reported by Cal Fire that on Monday morning, the area the car was trying to cross was impacted by a downed tree. A neighbor tried to help rescue those inside, and while Kyle’s mother was pulled to safety, he was unable to be rescued.

The SLO County Sheriff’s Office USAR (Underwater Search and Rescue) Team, air operations, drone team, detectives, and deputies were deployed to search for Kyle, and after about five hours of searching on Monday, crews had to cease the search due to hazardous weather. However, with a break in the severe weather, the search was continued the following day.

Unfortunately, there have been no signs of Kyle, and the search efforts continue by both the county officials and volunteers. 