Homeless man rescued from storm-swollen Guadalupe River; 'It happened so fast! I couldn't get out!'

SAN JOSE -- Fast-moving, rising waters trapped a San Jose homeless man, flooding his makeshift home along the Guadalupe River Tuesday morning.

San Jose Fire rescue crews brought a long ladder to save Roger Gantzert after rushing waters flooded his two-story wooden structure.

"That was quick!" said Gantzert. "It happened so fast! I couldn't get out!"

Gantzert built his makeshift home six months ago right on the river. He has been living there ever since.

He said he was trapped inside for five hours as waters kept rising as high as three feet.

"Water moves fast!" said Gantzert. "That's a lot of water!"

South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition Founder and Executive Director Steve Holmes first spotted Gantzert. He and his crew were walking along the trail, surveying the area. They were getting ready to clean up the waterway. 

"We saw somebody moving in the upstairs structure and called out to him, 'Do you need help?'" said Holmes. "He said, 'Yes!' so we called 911, and they showed up with their trucks and were able to get him out of harm's way down there."

Gantzert is grateful for rescue crews, and he's glad he's back on drier ground.

Gantzert told us he's going to stay with a friend at another homeless encampment. He said he's coming back for his kittens when the Guadalupe River recedes.

The storm created havoc across the Bay Area as its leading edge slammed into the region, triggering a litany of crashes on local roadways, a flash flood watch for Monterey County and waterspout warnings along the coast.

Pockets of moderate and heavy downpours lit up the radar across the South Bay around 5 a.m. as the front began its day-long assault on the region.

The storm churned up the Pacific, forcing the National Weather Service to issue a slew of hail and waterspout warnings for the San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Monterey coasts around 2 a.m. and a high surf advisory

"Large breaking waves of 15 to 20 feet and dangerous rip currents," weather service forecasters warned. "Large waves can sweep across the beach without warning, pulling people into the sea from rocks, jetties, and beaches. These waves can also move large objects such as logs, crushing anyone caught underneath."

The rain led to slow morning commute traffic and numerous spinouts on Bay Area highways. Highway 92 in Half Moon Bay was shut down in both directions for more than eight hours after a large tree fell across the road, officials said.

The tree fell in the 11000 block of the roadway, also known as San Mateo Road, shortly before 7 a.m., according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. The roadway was finally cleared for traffic at around 1:30 p.m.

No injuries were reported.

The National Weather Service office in Sacramento confirmed that a EF-0 tornado touched down approximately four miles north of the town of Galt at around 1:40 pm Tuesday afternoon, causing some damage.

Intense downpours in the Santa Cruz Mountains and across the South Bay triggered a flood advisory until mid-morning. A flood advisory was also issued for the morning hours in Oakland.

By 8 a.m., nearly 2 inches of rain had fallen at Boulder Creek, over 2 inches at Valley Christian, 1.26 inches in Palo Alto and 1.42 inches in Mountain View.  

"At 5:14 a.m. doppler radar indicated heavy rain," the weather service said of the havoc in the Santa Cruz Mountain. "This will cause urban and small stream flooding. Between 1 and 2 inches of rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts of 0.5 to 1 inch are expected over the area."

"Some locations that will experience flooding include San Jose, Palo Alto, Santa Cruz, Cupertino, Campbell, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Corralitos, Scotts Valley, Ben Lomond, Felton, Boulder Creek, Soquel, Aptos, Eureka Canyon Road, Uvas Canyon Park, Monte Sereno, Lexington Hills and Day Valley."

In the East Bay, the downpours caused minor flooding on freeways and roadways.By 8 a.m. 1.63 inches had fallen in Fremont, an inch in Danville and 1.33 inches in Castro Valley.

"At 5:11 a.m., local law enforcement reported roadway flooding on Eastbound 80 on Ashby Ave offramp," the weather service said. "This will cause urban and all stream flooding. Between 0.3 and 0.5 inches of rain have fallen. Portions of interstates 580, 880, 980 offramps are the most likely place to experience minor flooding."