Second levee fails after breach in south Sacramento County prompts higher-ground advisory

Update, Sunday, Jan. 1: Highway 99 closed in Sacramento County, flash flood warning extended

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Residents in an area of Wilton in southeastern Sacramento County were told to seek higher ground Saturday night after a levee failed on a portion of the Cosumnes River. It was the first of two levees in southern Sacramento County to breach from heavy rains.

A flash flood warning was extended as floodwaters were expected to remain flowing through the area Sunday, officials said.

The Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services issued the advisory for an “imminent levee failure” around 9:30 p.m. following a flash flood warning from the National Weather Service for the breach.

The river at Wilton Road in the area of the advisory was observed at 76.20 feet — nearly 3 feet above flood stage and 25 feet above the river bottom — according to the county’s river gauge. That flood stage is set by the levee near Cecatra Drive, which overtops at approximately 73.5 feet, according to the county.

The area around Wilton, which is dotted with rural properties and farmland, was inundated with flooded roads and swollen creeks Saturday as some residents were ordered to evacuate their homes while others were advised to hunker down for the foreseeable future. In addition to the strong upstream flows, the area received more than 3 inches of rain throughout the day, according to county instruments.

The Saturday night advisory was for residents living along Cosumnes and Wilton roads. The affected area included homes located south of Wilton Road, west of the Cosumnes River and north of Gay Road.

“Residents have been advised to seek higher ground immediately,” the county said in its advisory. County spokeswoman Kim Nava said more than a hundred residents were notified of the danger, including some living outside the immediate area.

On Sunday morning, Sacramento County spokesman Matt Robinson said helicopter images showed there was a second levee break near Freeman and Dillard roads, this one in agricultural land. The area is about 3 miles upstream from the flooding on Highway 99.

Fed by heavy rains, the Cosumnes River upstream at Michigan Bar crested to 16.83 feet, nearly 5 feet above flood stage earlier on Saturday, according to weather service data.

Downstream as the river crosses Highway 99 at McConnell, weather service forecasters warned the river is expected to crest overnight at 46.2 feet, within a tenth of a foot from the water level set during storms on Dec. 23, 1955. The record high water mark was 48.5 feet set during the New Year’s storms of 1997.

Meteorologists say the river is expected to fall below flood stage by Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, close to 200,000 homes and businesses in the Sacramento region had lost power Saturday evening as the monumental atmospheric river storm brought gusts near 60 mph and pounding rains to Northern California on New Year’s Eve.