Free sand and bags offered before rain comes at local fire station

SAN DIEGO COUNTY – It’s been one of the driest winters on record, but finally some significant rain is headed this way. Once again, the County of San Diego is making free sand and bags available to residents in the unincorporated areas. Residents just need to bring their own shovel.

North County Fire Protection District is providing sand and bags for Fallbrook area residents at Station 4, 4375 Pala Mesa Drive.

Department of Public Works (DPW) crews will also be working on county roadways during and after the storms. So be sure to watch out for crews and equipment, and slow down.

If driving in the mountains, wait for the storms to pass before going up to enjoy the snow as DPW crews will likely be plowing roadways around the clock.

Don’t park on the highway and don’t allow children, or yourself, to sled down the hill and across the roadway. You never know when a snowplow will be coming around the curve.

In the county there are several areas that are prone to roadway flooding. The three most frequent include the dip at Sandia Creek. DPW crews will post road closures at Sandia Creek and any other areas where unsafe driving conditions exist. You can monitor the status of the dips by webcam - http://sdcfcd.org/sandiacreeknew.html.

Never cross a flooded roadway if you cannot see the pavement. Even a few inches of water running at the right velocity can sweep a car, and even a truck, and its occupants off the roadway and downstream. You don’t want a swift-water rescue as part of your weekend activities.

During and immediately after heavy rainfall, do not go near storm channels, creeks or streams.

It’s always a good idea to carry chains if planning a trip to the mountains. Chain controls, road condition updates, and other safety advisories are posted on Facebook.com/SDCountyDPW.

During severe weather events, the DPW Emergency page is activated with the latest information: http://sdcdpw.org/emergency.

Road conditions are posted on our social media pages by crews working the roadways so the sites will have the latest information. However, because the crews are focused on driving the plows, they cannot answer questions on the pages about specific roads, and drivers should be aware conditions can change rapidly.