Mud Out Pajaro

Shout out to the nearly 200 volunteers who gave their time and cleaned up homes in Pajaro on Saturday, April 15!  Volunteers filled buckets and wheelbarrows with mud and moved it to the curbside for removal. They used pressure washers to clean homes and driveways. They dragged water-soaked debris to the curbside. A levee break on March 10 flooded the town of 3,000 resident under 3 feet of water. 

Many of the residents who requested assistance were senior citizens and not physically able to complete the work. Other families are just overwhelmed with the work necessary to clean up after the floodwaters.

The volunteers worked in 8 different grids around town and cleaned at 60 different homes. Local residents were very thankful for the work of the teams. Several teams worked underneath homes to remove the mud that was still wet and slimy from the flooding. 

“The Mud Out in Pajaro brought out dozens of volunteers to help clean up and beautify the community. The residents were very appreciative. What we did in a few minutes would have taken these residents all day to do. Many homes belonged to seniors who really needed the extra manpower to get the cleaning done. I couldn’t be more proud at seeing the concern and generosity of these volunteer heroes who came to help Pajaro at its greatest time of need.”

– Supervisor Luis Alejo, Chair of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors

The Mud Out was led by Hope Crisis Response Network with support from several local organizations working to help local residents. 

Thank you to the Santa Cruz Volunteer Center for helping recruit volunteers and providing tools. Thank you to Monterey County Board of Supervisors Chair Luis Alejo and District 2 Supervisor Glenn Church for joining the clean up teams! Thank you to Erik Putzler and the Carpenter’s Union Local 505, Santa Cruz County for coming out and cleaning and helping local residents understand the clean up work! Thank you to Community Bridges for providing equipment and cleaning supplies for the volunteer day! Thank you to the American Red Cross for providing the meals for the volunteers and for underwriting the cost of equipment and supplies.

If you’d like to support our work in Pajaro, you can donate here