SAN DIEGOSAN DIEGO — The wind and heavy rain that Tropical Storm Hilary brought to San Diego Sunday caused power outages, school closures, road detours, mudslides, fallen trees, flight cancellations and major adjustments to transit routes.
Fire Departments and ambulance companies added extra staff and came up with alternate routes for emergency responses based on where flooding had already happened and where it was expected through the night.
Law enforcement focused on closing flooded roads and clearing fallen trees and debris from others. Several roads in flood-prone Mission Valley were preemptively closed just before the storm’s mid-afternoon arrival.
Officials told residents to expect many of the road closures and power outages to extend well into Monday, and possibly even longer in East County and other hard-hit areas.
The San Diego Unified School District postponed its first day of the new school year from Monday to Tuesday, but no other county school districts had canceled Monday classes.
Churches across the region took varying approaches to the storm. Some closed completely, some offered online services and others followed through with regular in-person services.
Some grocery stores and restaurants stayed open, while many others closed. The DoorDash food delivery service announced Sunday afternoon that it was suspending operations through at least 9 a.m. Monday.
Power outages, which were expected to be widespread and prolonged because of the storm’s heavy winds, began just before noon Sunday in coastal North County. An outage in La Costa cost more than 1,500 residents power and another east of Del Mar affected more than 1,100.
“I really want to make sure that our customers are prepared for prolonged outages,” said Caroline Winn, chief executive of San Diego Gas & Electric.
Winn said the company has additional crews and equipment in place. She also advised residents to stay away from any downed lines, and to call 911 if they smell gas. Updated outages can be viewed on SDG&E’s app and website.
By Sunday evening, there were small additional outages in parts of South and East county, including Spring Valley, Otay Mesa and El Cajon.
Through late Sunday, airlines had canceled 253 flights at San Diego International Airport and 33 flights at Tijuana International Airport. A spokesperson at the San Diego airport said there were no immediate plans to shut down all flights with a ground stoppage.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria signed a local emergency proclamation Sunday afternoon, a move that enables the city to acquire state and federal disaster resources if needed.
“I ask San Diego to continue to be vigilant — make sure water has a place to go around your property, prepare for power outages, steer clear of downed power lines and report them to 911,” Gloria said.
On the city’s Get It Done! tipster app, residents reported flooding from Southcrest to Miramar Ranch, downed trees from Encanto to Rancho Bernardo, streetlight outages from Logan Heights to Rancho Peñasquitos and blocked or overflowing storm drains from North Park to Sorrento Valley.
The Red Cross on Sunday opened overnight shelters that will offer food and a place to rest in San Marcos and Chula Vista, the county announced.
“The Red Cross shelters will serve people with a wide range of needs, including people with disabilities, children and seniors,” the county said in a statement.
The locations are: Corky Smith Gym, at 274 Pico Avenue in San Marcos, and Southwestern College’s Jaguar Aquatics Wellness and Sports center, at 900 Otay Lakes Road in Chula Vista. The shelter at Southwestern College will also accommodate pets, according to the county.
Many residents across the county prepared Friday and Saturday for the storm by securing patio furniture and removing outdoor items that could get blown away by heavy winds.
Brandi Smothers said she felt better prepared than last September, when high winds from Tropical Storm Kay damaged the small business she runs in Wynola, just west of Julian. But she said it still hasn’t been enough.
“We took everything down that could blow over, wrapped about a dozen trees yesterday so that they wouldn’t fall over — but we’ve lost them,” she said Sunday. “I have about nine trees down across the 5 acres. It’s nerve-wracking because there’s still more. It’s still heading our way and we prepped.”
Veronica Viveros, owner of Veronica’s Kitchen in Descanso, said there was an eerie emptiness in the streets amid afternoon rainfall.
“It hasn’t come down hard, but I think a lot of people decided to stay home because they were scared and wanted to be cautious,” she said. “Last year our power went out and the Sweetwater River went up. People couldn’t get around because they’d get stuck in the river.”
To prevent flooding, San Diego lowered the water level in two city reservoirs — Lake Hodges near Rancho Bernardo and Barrett Lake near Dulzura. Officials said they expect the storm to cause flooding and spills early this week from Loveland Reservoir in Alpine.
The storm presented major challenges for firefighters and emergency service workers.
San Diego’s ambulance provider Falck USA added extra crews, put all employees on call and planned alternate routes in flood-prone areas.
Those moves are part of Falck’s incident action plan, which also includes putting generators in place for power outages and boosting supplies for paramedics and emergency medical technicians, a company spokesperson said.
If it becomes necessary to evacuate nursing homes or hospitals, Falck had designated National University as an assembly point for potential strike teams to handle those evacuations.
Falck is also working with city fire officials to avoid delays, but the company said some delays will be unavoidable.
“We’re going to be responding more slowly for our own safety, and we could be delayed by flooding, mudslides or downed trees on roadways,” said the spokesperson, Jeff Lucia.
Alternative routes are key to the strategy.
“We’re closely monitoring roadway conditions and are prepared to use alternate routes to reach hospitals if necessary,” Lucia said. “Nobody can predict the full impact of the hurricane, but we are monitoring areas where flooding has occurred in the past — for example, the border area and Mission Valley, as well as areas that are prone to mudslides, such as Bay Park.”
Chief Jason Malneritch of Cal Fire said Sunday that many fire departments across the region have added staff. He said CalFire had six water-rescue teams in place and 10 additional strike teams to tackle emergencies.
In addition, he said Cal Fire had moved several fire engines with four-wheel drive into rural areas perceived to be in danger of getting cut off by road closures and flooding.
County Sheriff Kelly Martinez said Sunday that she was focused getting any blocked routes back open as soon as possible.
“We need to really think about tomorrow after the storm is through and getting across our roadways that might have flooding and significant debris,” she said.
There were also major disruptions to many transit routes. The North County Transit District canceled many Sunday evening Coaster trains and the Metropolitan Transit System made several changes. They include rerouting Lines 1, 20, 41, 88 and 120, which ordinarily cross the San Diego River on Fashion Valley Road.
For updates, visit sdmts.com/getting-around/alerts-detours or goNCTD.com.
Staff writers Tammy Murga, Paul Sisson, Abby Hamlin, David Hernandez and Sam Schulz contributed to this report.
