‘Water was coming in our house.’ Residents evacuated amid relentless Merced County storm
The extreme rainstorm that Merced County has seen over the past days reached a critical stage Tuesday, as some residents fled their homes at a moment’s notice amid rising floodwaters.
The Merced County community of Planada is one of the hardest hit, where all residents were evacuated by Sheriff’s Office deputies and other emergency personnel in the early morning hours.
In the city of Merced, Bear Creek flooded over its banks. The creek is considered to be at flood stage when it reaches a depth of 23 feet; by Tuesday morning, the creek was at 26 feet.
Many of the residents who live near the creek roughly between M and G streets were under mandatory evacuation orders by city officials. Other residential areas near the creek were given evacuation warnings. Numerous road closures were in place around Merced and the county due to flooding.
Weather service officials say Merced has seen a total of 2.32 inches of rain since Friday, and 4.41 inches for the month of January.
The rain is expected to continue through midday Wednesday. The area should get a reprieve from the wet weather Thursday, but more is expected Friday, with another storm system hitting the region, according to Carlos Molina, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Valley office in Hanford.
3 a.m. evacuation in Planada
Some residents of Planada have already reported the flood waters entering their homes. Esela Torrez, 24, was evacuated from her home at 3 a.m. along with her brother, mother and three dogs.
“We heard neighbors screaming, telling everyone to leave their homes. Water was coming in our house. All we took were our three dogs, three blankets and a pair of clothes,” said Torrez, who has lived in Planada for 12 years.
“It was scary. We live blocks away from where the canal erupted. I never thought our street would be that bad. The water was going down our street with a current, you could see waves. There were trash cans going through the street.
“Who knows what we lost or what we’ll get back. As long as we made it out of there, that’s the good thing.”
Bear Creek shows its other side
In areas of the city of Merced, residents like Mike Bik were keeping a close eye Tuesday on the rising waters of Bear Creek.
Bik, 72, who lives on West 28th Street near Bear Creek, said it’s not the first time he’s seen the water get dangerously close to his home. “I’m going to say probably maybe five to seven years ago was the last time I saw it this high. It’s a little scary, but you get used to it.”
“The creek is nice to live next to — ‘course not when it’s this high,” Bik said. “It’s a nice place to be, walk the dogs up here every day so it’s a nice area to live.”
Evacuation centers set up
As public safety officials scramble to contain the threat, the county opened the Merced County Fairgrounds as an evacuation center.
John Ceccoli, Merced County Human Services Agency deputy director, said the fairgrounds started to see an influx of residents just after midnight Tuesday.
Ceccoli said local officials were hosting around 200 people at the fairgrounds as of Tuesday morning, providing basic necessities and a place to rest. “We have the ability to expand as needed,” Ceccoli said.
Local residents who are interested in providing help or donations to those affected by the flooding can call the United Way at 209-383-4242 or email Janet Kasper at jkasper@unitedway.org, according to Ceccoli.
Schools closed
The sheriff’s office around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday issued the evacuation notice for the entire town of Planada, which has a population of around 4,000 people. “If you’re in Planada and able to get to the Dollar General store, we will have buses ready to take you to a shelter. Please use extreme caution,” a post on the department’s Facebook page read.
Due to the severe flooding, all classes in Merced City School District and Merced Union High School District were canceled.
According to Merced County Office of Education, additional districts announcing cancellations Tuesday included El Nido Elementary School District, Ballico-Cressey School District, Le Grand High School, McSwain Union Elementary School District, Merced County Office of Education, Merced River School District, Planada Elementary School District and Weaver Union School District.
Locations where county residents can pick up sand bags
Ballico Fire Station, 11284 Ballico Ave. (209) 634-1022
Cressey Fire Station, 9255 Cressey Way (209) 394-8211
Delhi Fire Station, 16056 Acacia St. (209) 634-5007
Dos Palos Y Fire Station, 8047 W. Dairy Lane (209) 387-4223
El Nido Fire Station, 10537 S. Hwy 59 (209) 722-8452
McKee Fire Station. 3360 N. McKee Rd. (209) 723-4510
McSwain Fire Station, 961 Gurr Rd and Hwy 140 (209) 384-7027
Merced County Public Works, 2165 W. Wardrobe Ave .(Thornton Road entrance) (209) 385-7601 or (209) 385-5810 after hours
Planada Fire Station, 9234 E. Broadway (209) 382-0502
Santa Nella Fire Station, 29190 Centinella Rd. (209) 826-6339
Snelling Fire Station, 15974 Lewis St. (209) 563-6661
Stevinson Fire Station, 2738 Lander Ave. (209) 634-7086
Merced sand locations
Buena Vista and Sarasota
Parsons Ave and Brookdale Drive
Parsons Ave and Oregon Drive
West North Bear Creek and Shadow Brook Drive
Cheney Drive and Buckner Road
West side of Mansionette
Campus Drive and Line Drive
W. 24th and K Street
Additional sandbag information and locations
City of Atwater, First Street & Atwater Boulevard (209) 777-0273
City of Dos Palos, 1817 General Ave. (209) 392-2176
City of Gustine, 440 4th Street (Gustine Corp Yard) (209) 854-6183
City of Livingston, corner of Dwight Way & Walnut Avenue (Max Foster Sports Complex) (209) 394-8044
City of Los Banos, 1015 F St. (209) 827-7044
City of Merced, call for locations (209) 385-6891 or visit cityofmerced.org
