Storms bring flooding, outages and deaths

Jan. 6—The worst of the recent storm systems passed Wednesday night, which caused multiple power outages in the Yuba-Sutter area, severe impacts across the Sacramento Valley and deaths in the Bay Area.

National Weather Service officials expected continued rainfall to linger through the weekend into next week, leading to persisting flooding issues. Two additional atmospheric rivers have been forecast to occur Saturday through Jan. 10, Warning Coordination Meteorologist Courtney Carpenter said during a briefing.

The California Nevada River Forecast Center reported 1.62 inches of rain in Marysville as of early Thursday evening. Officials expect more rises along rivers, streams and creeks along with possible mainstream river flooding early next week.

While Yuba County experienced some minor flooding in low-lying areas during Wednesday's storm, there were no immediate reports of significant damage, Yuba County Media and Community Relations Coordinator Russ Brown said in an email.

"Yuba County appears to have weathered the most recent storm rather well," he said.

Sutter County Public Information Officer Chuck Smith said Thursday that no major damages were reported as a result of the storm, nor are there any issues with the levee system. However, parts of eight Sutter County roadways were closed due to flooding, he said. Officials urged those driving in wet conditions to be cautious when approaching a flooded roadway.

"Our main message is turn around, don't drown. We have parts of eight county roads closed due to localized flooding, but we've had experience with people believing they can drive through the flooded roadway, only to get stuck. It is especially hazardous at night. Don't drive through water, the road may be washed out beneath you," Smith said.

Yuba City experienced some minor roadway flooding, particularly around roadsides without curbs or gutters, Public Works and Development Services Director Ben Moody said in an email. Some drain inlets clogged by debris also contributed to the flooding.

"Overall, the city's storm drain system seemed to handle the amount of rain with this recent system fairly well. The wind was a bigger challenge from a cleanup perspective. We had crews working throughout the night clearing drains and clearing fallen trees and limbs. Additionally, crews helped coordinate traffic control with three downed power lines," Moody said.

To help mitigate flooding, Yuba City takes preventative measures to avoid drain clogging such as increased road sweeping and clearing storm drain detention basins, he said. The city also verifies that backup energy sources are prepared and fully operational.

Sutter County road crews will continue to keep drainage ditches unobstructed and downed trees out of the roadway.

"The assessment from the last 24 hours is that Sutter County fared well during this storm," Smith said in an email. "We did not see the impacts some of our neighboring counties received."

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Wednesday in response to the storm. This will allow the state to respond quickly and support residents affected by severe weather conditions, the governor's office said.

"We anticipate that this may be one of the most challenging and impactful series of storms to touch down in California in the last five years," Nancy Ward, director of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, said during a news conference on Wednesday. "If the storm materializes as we anticipate, we could see widespread flooding, mudslides and power outages in many communities."

Yuba County residents experienced some scattered power outages along with some widespread outages due to high winds, Brown said. A neighborhood in Linda, between North Beale Road and Hammonton-Smartsville Road, lost power Wednesday night, which has since been restored.

Residents in the foothills along La Porte Road also lost power. Brown said that PG&E crews were working to restore power Thursday morning.

"The utility reports that approximately 700 residents along that road, which involves both Yuba and Butte counties, were affected," he said.

Around 45 residents near Wheatland also lost power starting at 11:50 p.m. Wednesday, but power was expected to be restored by 6 p.m. on Thursday, according to the PG&E outage map.

Smith said that Sutter County experienced around 20 different power outages, impacting over 500 PG&E customers. Power was expected to be restored to most of the affected residents by Thursday evening.

Officials expected 35-45 mph winds to hit the Valley and foothills on Thursday with stronger winds arriving Saturday night.

High winds have led to downed trees in multiple areas across California, one of which led to the death of a toddler in the Bay Area. The child died after a redwood tree struck the family's home in Occidental, SFGate reported. High winds and heavy rains also caused the deaths of at least two other people in the Bay Area.

The Sacramento Bee reported that the child, a boy, was believed to be younger than 2-years-old and died at the scene. This marks the sixth death in California linked to storms since New Year's Eve. The Bee also reported other deaths including three people who died due to floods from last weekend's storm, the death of a 72-year-old man in Santa Cruz caused by a fallen tree and the death of a 19-year-old woman in Fairfield who hydroplaned into a utility pole.

National Weather Service officials predicted major to extreme flooding in parts of the Sacramento Valley on Wednesday and Thursday. However, other than minor isolated flooding in low-lying areas, Sutter County has not seen any major flood risks, Smith said.

Water levels remain within the banks of the Feather River well-below monitoring stage and flood stage, Smith said.

In the event that water levels rise within the Sacramento River on the west side of Sutter County, water spills over a series of weirs and into the Sutter Bypass to keep the river at low levels, Smith said.

"The Sutter Bypass is designed to take pressure off the Sacramento River levees by carrying the excess water of the Sacramento river through the heart of Sutter County. It empties into the Feather River near the confluence of the Sacramento River," he said.

The Moulton weir, Colusa weir and Tisdale weir are currently in place. Smith said that the Tisdale weir overflowed briefly during the storm around New Year's Eve, but has since stopped flowing. Both the Tisdale weir and the Colusa weir were expected to flow Thursday night, while the Moulton weir is expected to overflow on Monday, he said.

"This just means the system is working as designed and that there will be water channeled through the Sutter Bypass. Already, two roads through the bypass are closed, Franklin and Sacramento," Smith said.

Water levels in New Bullards Bar Reservoir have remained at acceptable levels throughout the storm, said Ryan McNally, director of water resources and flood risk reduction for Yuba Water Agency. As precipitation continues to fall over the Yuba Watershed, water will be accumulated behind New Bullards Bar Dam.

As of Thursday, inflow to the reservoir ran at a rate of nearly 2,700 cubic feet per second while outflow ran at nearly 3,300 cubic feet per second. Senior Public Information Officer Bonnie Dickson said that inflow rates are likely to increase as more storm systems arrive over the weekend. McNally also anticipates outflow releases late next week.

"We always run a certain level of releases through the powerhouse. That may change late into next week. We do anticipate a chance to operate into our spillway, and that is to release a little bit more water to keep our flood pool free," he said.

New Bullards Bar Reservoir is currently at 674,198 acre-feet, or about 69% total capacity, Dickson said. Should water levels approach the reservoir's flood pool, outflow releases may be utilized.

"Once we get close to that flood pool space — the top 170,000 acre-feet of space at the top of the reservoir — we'll start releasing small amounts of water from the dam via our spillway, likely a few thousand (cubic feet per second). That makes sure there's still room for additional inflow throughout the winter," she said.

McNally does not expect any critical changes during next week's storm systems.

"We're in really good shape. I don't think it will even be on the levee system at that point," he said.

The storm downed some branches in Yuba County and caused some isolated flooding, but Yuba County Public Works reported no major concerns. However, ongoing storms are likely to further inundate roads leading to difficult travel conditions. Officials are urging residents to be cautious while driving in wet weather.

"We continue to emphasize the importance of reducing speeds when traveling county roads and watching for water on the roadways. Do not drive through water that is covering a road, as it can be deceptively deep or be moving in such a manner as to carry a vehicle into a ditch. As the saying goes, 'Turn around, don't drown,'" Brown said.

Sandbags and sand piles for Yuba County residents are available for pick up at the Yuba County Airport, located at 1420 Sky Harbor Dr. and a Public Works Yard at 5390 Fruitland Rd. in Loma Rica.

Brown said that the airport is open 24/7 and the Loma Rica location is open 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Sutter County also offers sandbags to residents in seven different communities. Smith said that the county operates its sandbag distribution sites throughout the winter months in anticipation of continuous and extended heavy rainfall when widespread flooding may occur.

Sand and sandbags are available to property owners and local businesses on a self-serve basis. Property owners and businesses are requested to take no more than 25 sandbags.

Sandbags for Sutter County residents are available at the flowing locations: — Live Oak: City Corporation Yard on N Street. — Meridian: Meridian Fire Department located at 1100 Third St. — Oswald-Tudor: Oswald-Tudor Fire Department located at 1280 Barry Rd. — Pleasant Grove: Pleasant Grove Fire Department located at 310 Howsley Rd. — Robbins: Community center at the end of Del Monte Avenue. — Sutter: County Sign Yard located at 3098 Acacia Ave. — Throwbridge: Road Maintenance Yard located at 2560 Pacific Ave. — Yuba City: Corporation Yard located at 1185 Market St. and Road Yard at 275 Samuel Dr.

Butte County

Butte County Chief Administrative Officer Andy Pickett issued a local emergency proclamation on Thursday in response to the recent storm systems.

"By issuing an emergency proclamation, we are taking proactive steps to ensure regulations that may hinder response and recovery efforts are waived," Pickett said. "The emergency proclamation also provides access to financial assistance opportunities for reimbursement of costs associated to response and recovery."

Several roads across the county have been closed due to flooding, officials said. Sand and sandbags are available for Butte County residents at the following locations: — Oroville: Butte County Fire Department Station 64 located at 22 Walnut Ave. — Palermo: Butte County Fire Department Station 72 located at 2290 Palermo Rd. — Chico: Butte County Fire Department Station 41 located at 13871 Highway 99. — Magalia: Butte County Fire Department Station 33 located at 14164 Skyway Blvd. — Durham: Durham Park located at 1847 Durham-Dayton Highway