In partnership with PG&E and the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services, KSBY hosted the inaugural ‘Let’s Talk’ event at the Avila Beach Golf Resort where meteorologists Vivian Rennie and Jim Castillo answered community questions about this season’s El Nio.
Rennie said the event is about preparation, not panic.
Here on the Central Coast and throughout all of California, we’re used to being prepared or preparing for earthquakes, we’re prepared for fires, we’re prepared for all of that,” she said. “This is something else we need to be prepared with.
She said if a storm is already on the radar, it’s too late for major preparations. Holding the event during calm conditions gives the community more time to get ready.
Anchor Richard Gearhart moderated the discussion. Representatives from the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services and PG&E joined the panel to address safety concerns.
Sandra Karlic-Hiner said the January 2023 storms forced her to make a tough call, whether to keep her business open and risk her employees’ and customers’ safety.
The last thing I want to be responsible for, and I think nobody else responsible, is for the death of an employee or customer,” Karlic-Hiner said. “So the really hard thing that we had to deal with last time.
Seventy-five people from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties gathered at the Avila Beach Golf Resort to learn about this year’s El Nio, which the National Weather Service says has a 75% chance of being the strongest since 1950.
Heidi Sealy drove from Atascadero. She said she felt unprepared during the 2023 storms and wants to be more prepared in case this year brings an emergency.
This is the opportunity to be more prepared, more doing, planning on the front end and again, these types of things like maybe some kind of protocols,” Sealy said. “When it does come this year, something is going to come, then we’re prepared to deal with the emergency situation.
A PG&E representative said severe weather drives power outages and urged residents to stock up on supplies now. The San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services provided a checklist for emergency bags and shared links to ReadySBC.org and ReadySLO.org, resources to keep residents informed when emergencies strike.
I have a bunch of lists of notes and things that seem intuitive when you hear it, but I’m a checklist gal,” Sealy said. “If I don’t have a checklist, I don’t get it done, so I’m going to go back and check my trees… I’m going to go back and all the things we’ve discussed so far I have a long list of things.
KSBY is considering holding another event like this in a different community. If youd like to be put on the waitlist, visit this link.