Thousands in Stockton, SJ County still without power after Saturday storm

It's been a dark and cold start to 2023 for the 4,665 Stocktonians and 11,102 San Joaquin County residents that remained without power Monday, following Saturday's atmospheric river over Northern California.

Stockton City Manager Harry Black said he declared a local emergency Sunday — becoming the de facto Director of Emergency Services — as the National Weather Service reported 5.27 inches of rain at the Stockton Airport since early Dec. 26.

Several streets in Stockton remain closed due to flooding, including the Hammer Lane underpass between Lorraine Avenue and Holman Road. Black advised Stockton residents to be patient and to not drive through standing water — crews were out cleaning up downed trees and addressing street flooding.

"Waters are receding, which is allowing us to get out there and do a lot of cleanup," Black said. "Don't interact with any of the flooding, don't wade in it, don't walk through it, just let us do what we're doing."

Power outages at pump stations caused delays in clearing flooding for the city and San Joaquin County. Power has since been restored to city pump stations and the county was still assessing damage, San Joaquin County Office Of Emergency Services Director of Emergency Operations Tiffany Heyer said.

"We know there are homes in low lying areas that did have flooding issues, whether it was just into yards, garages or some into homes," Heyer said. "Currently, if homeowners have insurance, that's the first place they need to go ... (we're working on) how we can assist those that do not have insurance."

The state's Quickmap shows several downtown Stockton highway offramps closed Sunday due to flooding — southbound I-5 offramp to SR-4, eastbound SR-4 onramp from Wilson Way, southbound SR-99 offramp to SR-26 and southbound SR-99 offramp to Golden Gate Avenue — have been reopened as of 1 p.m. Jan. 2. I-5 to Navy Drive, which had experienced a mudslide, is also now open, according to Caltrans.

The northbound connector ramp from I-5 to SR-4 remains closed as of 1 p.m. Jan. 2, according to Caltrans, with repairs taking place at the offramp and the undercrossing at Lafayette Street and Center Street in Stockton.

Caltrans reported Highway 99 between Sacramento and Stockton reopened Monday night. Water from the Cosumnes River and Deer Creek flooded the roadway, prompting dozens of rescues and causing at least one death.

Some 29,000 Stockton residents were without power Sunday as a result of Saturday's storm. The atmospheric river brought heavy rains, strong winds and flooding in Stockton, and other parts of the state, on New Year's Eve.

According to the National Weather Service in Sacramento, wind gusts reached 54 mph in Stockton over the weekend, causing downed trees and power lines across the city.

Battalion Chief Brandon Doolan said the Stockton Fire Department saw an increase in calls Saturday night.

"We had pretty strong winds for about two hours or so, and we went from about 9 p.m. to midnight, responding to one call after another," Doolan said. "We had pretty much all of our units committed during that whole time, responding to lights down, trees down, the whole nine yards."

Officer Joe Silva, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department, said the department responded to over 200 storm-related calls including flooded streets and downed trees and power lines from 8:30 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday.

Power outages

Nearly 22,000 Stockton residents were without power as of 3 p.m. Sunday, according to PG&E’s outage map. By 8 p.m., the number of customers still without power was about 15,000.

PG&E reported outages in neighborhoods across Stockton including:

• August

• Bear Creek

• Country Club

• Garden Acres

• Kennedy

• Lakeview

• Lincoln Village

• Morada

• Parkwoods

• Sherwoods Manor

• Stonewood

• Victory Park

• Wagner Heights

For real-time updates on power outages, visit PG&E's outage map and type an address into the search bar.

Food safety tips

When power is lost due to a storm or power outage, one of the most important things to do is make sure refrigerated and frozen foods are safe to eat.

Here are tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on food safety for power outages:

• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed.

• If the doors stay closed, food will stay safe up to 4 hours in a refrigerator, 48 hours in a full freezer and 24 hours in a half-full freezer.

• After the outage, never taste food to determine if it is safe to eat. When in doubt, throw it out.

• Throw out perishable food in your refrigerator (meat, fish, cut fruits and vegetables, eggs, milk and leftovers) after 4 hours without power. Throw out any food with an unusual odor, color or texture.

Warming centers

Residents who are without power and need adequate heating or to charge their electronic devices are encouraged to go to a warming center, city spokesperson Connie Cochran said.

Warming centers will be open through Friday, Jan. 6 from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. Face coverings are required and will be provided to those who do not have one.

Here are the current locations for the warming centers:

• Arnold Rue Community Center, 5758 Lorraine Ave., (209) 937-7350

• Oak Park Senior Center, 730 E. Fulton St., (209) 937-7777

• Stribley Community Center, 1760 E. Sonora St., (209) 937-7351

• Van Buskirk Community Center, 734 Houston Ave., (209) 937-7358

Record reporter Ben Irwin contributed to this report.

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Thousands in Stockton, SJ County still without power after Saturday storm