7 minute read
COVER
ATMOSPHERIC RIVER DRENCHES VENTURA COUNTY
by Alex Wilson
The Ventura River swelled as a result of heavy rains on Jan. 5, 2023.
Photo by Alex Wilson
s the Ventura River swelled with churning rainwater and debris on Jan. 5, a man who had apparently been living in a camp at the river bottom became partly submerged and clung for dear life to the branches of a sopping-wet plant. Fortunately, someone else saw his distress and flagged down drivers on nearby Highway 33, who summoned rescue crews from the Ventura County Fire Department to the location west of Stanley Avenue at 9:37 a.m.
A swiftwater rescue team equipped with special floating ropes and dry suits quickly arrived on scene, but determined that rescuing the man via helicopter was the best option.
VCFD Public Information Officer Andy VanSciver also rushed there to document the rescue efforts which, thankfully, went off just as planned.
“Because the victim was in the water, we lowered a rescue swimmer on the hoist who has a special strap that they’re able [to use] to strap in the victim and secure them,” VanSciver explained to the Ventura County Reporter. “They both get hoisted up together and then just ferried over to the ground and are then transitioned to the ground rescue teams to be medically evaluated.”
The victim appeared to be OK after touching down on the ground and was able to walk to an ambulance before he was taken to a hospital to be checked out.
The rescue crews make such operations look easy. In truth, however, it’s a complex team effort involving multiple people on the helicopter, including a crew chief, hoist operator, rescue swimmer and pilot.
“They really communicate,” said VanSciver. “And then the hoist operator will lower the Docks were damaged by a storm surge at about eight homes in the Ventura Keys neighborhood on Jan. 5, 2023.
Elijah Baldwin, 9, and brother Joseph, 7, on Ventura's Main Street bridge, Jan. 5, 2023.
Photo by Alex Wilson
rescue swimmer down to the water, coordinating the speed of the hoist, as well as communicating directly with the pilot to shift left, right, upstream, downstream to make sure that the rescuer can be put into the safest place to execute the rescue.” A helicopter was called back to the same area of the Ventura River at about noon to rescue a second person who was not in the water, but stranded on a shrinking island. A third rescue effort on the Santa Clara River happened later in the day at around 2 p.m. Three more victims were hoisted to safety south of the 101 freeway with one requiring treatment for hypothermia.
VanSciver said that in the days prior to the storm, officials from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies alerted people living in the riverbeds about the looming danger, but only some of them heeded the warning.
“It’s becoming more frequent with the unhoused population,” VanSciver said of storm-related rescue efforts. “When we have a significant rain event, we notify all the residents that could be living in the river bottoms with our PA system. There’s also a bunch of social workers that go out there that the county provides when it’s not a rainy season. So the county does a lot to support and encourage the individuals to find housing outside of the river bottoms.”
Docks, boats, pier damaged
In addition to the river rescues, the storm that moved through on Jan. 5 also brought heavy surf that created chaos in both Ventura and Channel Islands harbors. Docks were ripped from the shoreline and about a dozen boats were set adrift at each harbor. The damage to Ventura Harbor was centered on the Ventura Keys neighborhood, where officials said about eight homes were impacted starting around noon.
Channel Islands Harbor Patrol Sergeant Chris Collins said they got a call about docks and boats floating free in the harbor at about 3 p.m. “We ended up towing a number of boats that were loose or breaking loose from a couple of different locations and moved those to other docks that were unaffected. And we also moved some dock debris and secured that so that wouldn’t be a hazard in the harbor.”
Harbor officials found damage to several marinas in various parts of the harbor, including Bahia Marina, Peninsula Yacht Marina and Anacapa Boatyard and Marine Services. It took the harbor patrol until after 10:30 p.m. to round up all the boats and secure the broken docks. Damage to the boats appeared to be minimal, Collins said, but the broken docks will apparently need significant repairs.
Collins blames the stormy ocean conditions for the destruction. “The large surf sent a surge into the harbor and the surging action of the boats moving back and forth, we believe, damaged the docks.”
While storm damage happens in the harbor from time to time, Collins said this event was especially destructive.
“We don’t normally get it this widespread, where there’s this much damage. Normally we might just have a few docks here and there damaged when we have large storms and large waves like this. But it’s rare for it to affect so many locations around the harbor,” he said.
Ventura’s historic pier also took a pounding last week. City officials said approximately seven piles were knocked loose. The pier was closed indefinitely while further assessments can be made and plans are formulated for repairs. The heavy surf also brought spectators to the shoreline near the pier to watch nature’s power, as well as a few surfers, including some who overestimated their ability and needed to be rescued.
Evacuations at Ventura Beach RV Resort
on West Main Street, was evacuated on Jan. 4, the Wednesday before the storm. Guests were allowed to return the following day after most of the rain moved through the area. While there was some standing water in parts of the park after the storm, there was no major damage.
Back in 1995, not long after the park was built, flood waters swept in too quickly to move all the RVs out of harm’s way, with some actually floating out into the ocean. Resort manager Sabrina Soliz said safety is paramount, especially in light of what happened there in the past.
“Our primary concern is the safety of our guests and people that stay here. And so we’re always going to err on the side of caution,” she said. “Because the waters, once they come through, are very, very quick. And no one wants to be in that circumstance. So we did reach out to Ventura County Fairgrounds, and they graciously agreed to let our guests come there and shelter in place for the night at no cost.”
Because the park sits in an area prone to flooding, workers there deploy sandbags and flood barriers before big storms to protect buildings which include a store and game room. Soliz said their customers generally understand when the park needs to be cleared out for safety reasons. “No one plans for these things. But I think for the most part, everybody understood that we had their welfare in mind. Most RVers are pretty laid-back people and, you know, take things as they come. It’s part of the lifestyle.”
After the rain had stopped falling on Thursday, Tina Broccoli walked across the Main Street bridge just east of Ventura Beach RV Resort to look at the Ventura River with her two grandsons, Elijah and Joseph Baldwin. The brothers, 9 and 7, wore rain boots for their excursion, and Elijah told the Ventura County Reporter that they enjoy going to see the river every time there’s a big storm.
“My brother and me like to look out after the rain every time to see how the river looks and how much it flows,” Elijah said.
Younger brother Joseph said that when the river gets going really fast, it’s “super cool.”
Weather watchers
The National Weather Service has an office in Oxnard where Eric Boldt has been working as a warning coordination meteorologist for 17 years, with a mission of saving lives and property by issuing forecasts and weather warnings. There are 122 similar offices nationwide, including 10 just in California. About 25 people staff the Oxnard office which covers the
Tide Table • January 12 - 18
HIGH TIDE LOW TIDE
AM HT PM HT AM LT PM LT
Thur 1:13 3.7 11:45 4.1 6:19 2.6 6:55 .7 Fri 1:52 3.9 12:40 3.5 7:39 2.5 7:28 1.1 Sat 2:34 4.2 2:08 2.9 9:19 2.1 8:06 1.6 Sun 3:19 4.5 4:16 2.6 10:51 1.5 8:57 2.0 Mon 4:08 4.9 6:08 2.7 11:56 .7 10:04 2.3 Tue 4:58 5.4 7:18 3.0 12:48 -.01 11:13 2.4 Wed 5:49 5.9 8:07 3.3 1:33 -0.9
