San Diegans clean up after storm brings rain, wind through county

Local businesses on Friday were left to clean up the aftermath of the winter storm that brought rain and snow to San Diego County, including one that was just 24 hours away from its grand opening. 

“We came in to prep some stuff and get ready, and we saw everything was completely flooded,” Shantelle Girard, creator of Rancher Hat Bar, told NBC 7. “We’re kind of in shock a little bit.”

Rancher Hat Bar is a make-your-own hat experience that already has several locations, including in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Nashville, Tennessee. Girard was in San Diego to open their new storefront on Mission Boulevard on Saturday, but instead of setting up, she spent the day before cleaning. 

“I was like, ‘It’s sunny San Diego,’” she said. “This cannot happen.” 

They lost an estimated 30 hats, according to Girard, along with some furniture and flooring that they plan to replace. She told NBC 7 the rain was “like a hurricane.” 

In the Middletown neighborhood, homeowner Dan Webb was also taken by surprise. His Nest camera captured the moment a rooftop pergola flew off of his roof after a gust of wind. 

“It was like ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” he said, describing the video. “The house flew up, and it took it somewhere. I was thinking, ‘Where is it at?’”

He said he was home at the time and could hardly see out of the window because of rain hitting them. He then started to get ready to go onto his roof, but when he saw what happened in the video, it was already too late.

“Thank goodness it didn’t land on anybody’s car or anything,” Webb said. “It went quite a ways to go off this roof onto the lower roof and then tumble down into the neighbor’s yard.” 

Both Webb and Girard are making their plans for the next of two more storms anticipated to bring more rain and wind to San Diego County early next week. 

“I think we’re going to do some serious like waterproofing and prepping everything and getting it ready to go,” Girard said.

As for Webb, he’s not planning to replace the pergola any time soon.

“Nope,” he said, with a laugh of relief.

For a list of sandbags available within the city of San Diego, click here.