County offers free sand, sandbags before storm

With heavy rains expected, the County Department of Public Works is once again offering free sand and bags to residents in the unincorporated areas to help protect homes, neighborhoods and streets from flooding and erosion.

Current forecasts are predicting rain could fall Thursday night and Friday. The region is still suffering through record levels of drought this year. Because of that, rains could trigger erosion and even debris flow, especially in areas that aren’t covered by lawns, trees, shrubs and plants.

Water runoff, mud and debris swept downstream by rains can damage homes, clog storm drains and culverts and flood roadways.

Locations for free sand and bags include North County Fire Protection District, Station 4: 4375 Pala Mesa Drive, Fallbrook. Just bring a shovel to fill the sandbags and you’ll be good to go.

Public Works crews will post road conditions on its Twitter and Facebook pages but they will be focused on dealing with the storm so they cannot answer questions on the pages about specific roads, and drivers should be aware conditions can change rapidly.