Clear Lake floods as winter storms exact toll on Sonoma, Lake counties

Clear Lake is the latest water body to spill its banks as one of the wettest winters on record continues to punish many communities closest to rising creeks, rivers and reservoirs.|

CLEAR LAKE - Debra Hill slowly made her way through the floodwaters rising around her Lakeport home Tuesday, determined to take her deaf and blind Boston terrier, Bruiser, across the street for a walk on dry land.

Like many shoreline residents here, Hill and her husband, Jim, have stayed at their property as the latest winter storm pushed Clear Lake well over its banks, to its highest level since 1998, inundating homes, flooding lakeside streets and bringing some aspects of life in Lake County to a halt.

The bad news for many of those affected is that runoff into this massive lake is so plentiful it is expected to continue to rise through Friday, triggering additional flooding and more evacuation orders.

“If it goes up any more,” Hill said, she and her husband would leave, taking shelter at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Lakeport, where the Red Cross has set up an evacuation center that hosted about 40 people overnight Monday.

This is life during one of Northern California’s rainiest winters on record, a daily show and struggle with nature as a seemingly endless string of storms erases outward signs of the state’s long drought while punishing many communities closest to rising creeks, rivers and reservoirs.

Late Tuesday, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office advised residents of all low-lying, flood prone areas to be prepared for evacuations and to leave sooner rather than later. Officials advised those residents to gather medications, pets and important papers.

In Sonoma County, the latest storm chased two days of steady rainfall with driving winds that Monday night toppled large trees, hitting at least one occupied home and a passing vehicle.

Along the lower Russian River near Guerneville, Summerhome Park resident John Powers and his hound dog, Jada, were sleeping Monday night when a huge fir tree smashed through their home, narrowly missing the man and the dog.

“I was just in bed a little before 9 and I’d dozed off and a tree came through the roof and landed on the bed, trashing my house,” Powers said Tuesday. “I had 4 feet of mattress left. It just missed my body.”

Forestville firefighters called to the Oak Road two-story home found it crushed by the large tree, which had brought the roof down onto the bed, Forestville Assistant Fire Chief Dave Franceschi said.

“The dog wasn’t hurt; both of them got really lucky. His house didn’t make out too well,” Franceschi said.

Powers said it was the second time since 2007 that his home has been damaged by a falling tree from a winter storm.

The Russian River crested at 29.6 feet Tuesday night at Guerneville, more than 2 feet below flood stage.

A 19-year-old woman who died at a local hospital after being swept out to sea Monday near Schoolhouse Beach was identified as Victoria Alvarez of Fairfield. Alvarez was with four other friends, who also were swept into the water by a large wave but made it back to shore on their own.

The North Coast is due for a two-day respite from a record-setting wet winter, thanks to a high pressure ridge over the Pacific Ocean that is pushing storms north of the region, National Weather Service forecaster Steve Anderson said.

Today and Thursday are expected to be partly cloudy, with patchy frost Thursday morning, he said.

“Take the time to clean up from previous storms and prepare for the next one,” Anderson said.

Clouds will build up Friday, leading to a chance of rain Saturday, likely turning to heavy precipitation Saturday night and more rain Sunday.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,”Anderson said.

Santa Rosa got a quarter inch of rain in the 24 hours ending at 4 p.m Tuesday, bringing the season’s total to 51.99 inches, which is 203 percent of average for this time of year.

Early Tuesday, a large oak toppled onto a passing pickup southwest of Windsor, just missing the driver but crushing part of the unoccupied passenger side. The surprised driver called for help at about 6:30 a.m., directing Forestville firefighters to Trenton-Healdsburg Road near Mark West Station Road. The man had been headed toward Windsor when the tree fell.

“It was just like bam on him. It was too fast to even avoid it,” Franceschi said.

In Lakeport, evacuation orders issued affected about 135 people in low-lying neighborhoods. Clear Lake was more than a foot over its 9-foot flood level and officials said it could reach 11 feet by Friday.

“The lake is going to continue to rise the next few days,” said Lakeport Community Development Director Kevin Ingram. He said more water is pouring in than can drain from the natural lake, the state’s second-largest behind Lake Tahoe.

Lakeport recorded 1.44 inches of rain Tuesday, bringing its season total to 40.91 inches.

Eileen McGuire, a hairdresser at A Touch of Class in Lakeport for 26 years, remembers well the last time the lake rose to this level, in the winter of 1998.

About 8 inches of water flooded the salon, shutting it down for five weeks. A salon on the other, higher side of the parking lot set up extra work stations and allowed the salon’s hairdressers to work there until their shop reopened.

“We came in in the morning with boots, grabbed our phones and worked,” McGuire said.

It’s the type of camaraderie that exists in the small town, she said. This time, a woman who owns a vacant salon away from the waterline has offered them the space if needed. McGuire’s husband already was taking equipment to the shop in preparation for the worst, she said.

Just downhill from the salon, on Esplanade Street, which is submerged in several feet of water in places, the county vector control district was operating as usual despite being marooned by floodwaters. Nearby homes were evacuated, but the county employees donned rubber boots and waders so they could carry on their duties as usual.

“There’s a lot of water” outside but the pier-top office has a history of working through flood situations, said Jacinda Franusich, the office manager. Franusich said she has seen photos of staffers going to work by boat during a prior flood.

Multiple highway and county roads in Lake and Mendocino counties were closed by flooding and mudslides. They include Highway 128 near Navarro, Highway 175 at Hopland and Highway 1 near Point Arena. Highway 20 remained partially closed in Colusa County, causing travel delays between Lake County and the Central Valley. Highway 16 to Rumsey is blocked by a mudslide, eliminating that as an alternate route.

While Monday night was busy primarily in Sonoma County with tree-related calls, firefighters in several areas said they were surprised it wasn’t a little busier because of the strong wind.

“All in all, the county was really quiet considering all the factors, which is good,” said Sonoma Valley fire Battalion Chief Spencer Andreis.

“Those trees were swaying back and forth. I’m surprised we didn’t get more (calls),” Franceschi said.

“I think the storm bypassed us,” said Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman. “We got a lot of rain, we got our usual trees down and powerlines down.”

Baxman kept an eye on a vacation home on Moscow Road threatening to slide into the Russian River. It was still standing Tuesday night, but the deck was tilted toward the water, he said.

About 20 Sonoma County roads were closed Tuesday, because of flooding, mudslides, fallen trees and rocks.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 707-462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com.

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