Homeowners in San Diego's Backcountry Preparing for Downpours

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published January 3, 2008 at 2:00 PM PST

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

Homeowners in San Diego's backcountry are making preparations for this weekend's expected storms, and the County is on stand by in case of emergencies. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

Homeowners in San Diego's back country are making preparations for this weekend's expected storms , and the County is on stand by in case of emergencies. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

Bill Pollick of San Diego County Public Works says the County has already conducted erosion risk assessments for more than 1,000 homeowners whose properties were burned in the October wildfires. He says four erosion control centers in Dalzura, Fallbrook Ramona and Valley Center are open today and people are picking up sand bags, fiber rolls and seed mix.

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Pollick: So far, here at the Ramona Station alone we've given out about 2,000 sand bags today. We have a stock pile of about 30,000 still here and those are for residents in the burn areas to come in pick them up for free to help protect their property.

Pollick says the County has already sprayed hydro mulch over many exposed hillsides, and more than 150 people on road crews are checking culverts and road crossings for possible flooding. He says the crews will be on 24 hour stand by over the coming days.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.