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Series of storms moving into San Diego County

Posted at 6:46 AM, Jan 23, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-23 09:46:04-05

SAN DIEGO (KGTV)- Heavy rain is expected to move into San Diego County over the weekend, and some are preparing for the potential of flooding.

The Valley Fire tore through the East County in September, scorching thousands of acres, including parts of Hidden Haven Farms on the outskirts of Jamul.

“The hillsides are still pretty bare from the fire. Until mother nature comes back and revegetates the hill, we’re at risk of a lot of rain soaking up that hillside and causing some slippage,” said Tony Skidmore, who owns the farm with his wife. “We made some adjustments to hopefully divert the flows around the buildings.”

With scar burns and no vegetation on the hillside, Skidmore worries about flooding. In November, he lined the farm with fiber rolls and made break dams to divert the water rushing from the hillsides. Since then, he has added more protection to the area.

“I can’t thank the County of San Diego Public Works Department enough. They provided us with fiber rolls and sandbags,” he said. “With the animals, they tend to be on high ground, so we’re not too concerned there. We added a few more fiber rolls, staked those into areas to help divert the flow away from buildings.”

While he isn’t too concerned about the first storm expected, the second is a different story.

“The second one that’s coming in Sunday night to Tuesday afternoon, that one is predicted to be maybe an inch and a half, that one has me more concerned.”

For people hoping to get a COVID-19 vaccine over the weekend, the rain isn’t expected to cause any appointment cancelations at the county’s vaccination sites.

A spokesperson for the county sent a statement saying that no vaccine sites are scheduled to be
closed at this time and, “We are looking to bring in tent type structures to some sites to cover any waiting or registration areas that may be vulnerable.”

At the Petco Superstation, almost 5,000 appointments have already been scheduled for Saturday.
“We’re not closing unless something catastrophic happens,” said Dr. Chris Longhurst with UC San Diego. Longhurst said he has been vaccinating people daily, and the site is prepared for the rain.

“We’ve had the tents up since we’ve opened the superstation, which has been helpful for the sun as well, but they’re reinforced with concrete to make sure they don’t blow away; we’ve got ponchos for all of our vaccinators and volunteers,” he said. “The rain may slow us down a little bit, but it’s not going to stop us.”