By Khalida Sarwari
A Capitola fire station that was severely damaged in a flood earlier this year has reopened.
The Central Fire Protection District of Santa Cruz County reopened Station No. 4 after extensive cleaning and remodeling following a flood in March.
Heavy rains overwhelmed a drainage culvert near the fire station and destroyed homes, flooded businesses, and damaged parts of the Police Department and City Hall, according to Mike DeMars, a spokesman for the Central Fire District.
“It wasn’t built to handle that volume of water and it failed,” DeMars said.
While the station was undergoing renovation, displaced crews had been housed at the Live Oak Fire Station and were still responding to emergencies in the Capitola area.
The community is invited to a reopening ceremony from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the station, located at 405 Capitola Ave.