Saratoga News

News

Volunteers turn out to fill sandbags for community

By Emilie Doolittle

Ten members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints turned out on Jan. 8 to fill 100 sandbags for the community to use in the event of flooding during the recent storm that hit the Santa Clara Valley.

Church member Ray Froess had asked people to come out and fill sandbags. But despite the 5 inches of rain, only Kevin Cole took advantage of the opportunity, using nine sandbags to stop the flooding around his house.

Cole, one of the volunteers filling the bags at the Saratoga maintenance yard, said, "When you need [sandbags] immediately, it's no fun to fill them in the rain."

Saratoga city staff members are concerned about the potential for flooding and landslides and want residents to be prepared for future storms. City employees received many calls from residents reporting flooded storm drains and fallen trees during the last storm.

To plan ahead for stormy weather, the city hopes that the community will utilize the free sand and sandbags in the city's maintenance yard at 19700 Allendale Ave. Older and disabled residents may request to have sandbags delivered in advance by calling the city's public works department at 408.868.1245.

With more rain to come, city crews are monitoring the slopes of Saratoga for indicators of potential landslides. Early landslide signs include cracks in the soil, displacement of ground levels, slumping banks and leaning trees. To report signs of landslides, call the public works department.

In future storms, residents can report roads blocked by flooding or fallen trees to the Santa Clara County at 408.299.2507.