At least 4-5 people were injured in a what witnesses described as a tornado in downtown Scotts Valley this afternoon, according to fire officials.
Cpt. Dennis Petteys, of the Scotts Valley Fire Protection District said around 15-20 cars were damaged, though he added he couldn’t say if afternoon extreme weather event was technically a tornado or not.
Elie Colby, 14, of Ben Lomond, was studying for finals in Starbucks with her friends when the funnel cloud rolled through.
“The door ripped open,” she said. “We didn’t understand what was happening.”
Evelyn Carter, a 14-year-old from Felton—who’d been deep into her biology review—said one of the doors was torn from its hinges.
“They told us to leave,” she said. “We all walked outside and the sun came out—which was weird.”
That’s when they saw the chaos of overturned vehicles and first responders arriving to care for the casualties.
Braden Ramsey, another Felton 14-year-old, said the whole thing was a bit crazy.
“It was just surprising,” he said.
Chris Wakeland, the Scotts Valley McDonald’s store manager on duty at the time, said the incident happened around 1:45pm.
“I saw trees flying through the air…not just little ones,” he said, adding the ground began shaking. “It looked like it was probably circling around our store.”
Wakeland told customers to remain inside. Some held the doors closed.
“I’ve never been in a tornado,” he said. “I never expected one to be happening in Scotts Valley.”
