Russian River residents reel from night of powerful wind and rain, and prepare for more

GUERNEVILLE — Thousands of residents began the day here in western Sonoma County without electricity, still reeling from a night of pelting rain, howling winds and the earsplitting sound of giant trees and branches hurtling to the ground.

One by one, some made their way down to the banks of the swollen Russian River, its swift current a widening brown ribbon between the drenched, forested hills.

As the rain eased, residents began taking stock of storm damage and restocking on food and supplies at local grocers, convenience and hardware stores. With an eye on two more storm systems expected this weekend and early next week, they bought firewood, batteries, lanterns, propane, gasoline and other necessities.

The historic Guerneville Bridge and the disappearing shoreline at Johnson’s Beach just downstream were the main spots for river watchers, some of whom took photos and videos for concerned friends and family.

“I’ve seen it higher,” said Jose Benjamin Robles, 73, speaking in Spanish.

Robles, who has lived in the same house off Armstrong Woods Road for 32 years, said his house usually escapes damage when the river spills its banks. The retired Guerneville School maintenance worker spent part of Thursday delivering sandbags to his niece’s house on Old Cazadero Road.

“We’re at 17 feet now,” he said. “At 32 feet, the water starts to come into town,” he said pointing to Main Street.

Thirty-two feet. It’s the number many residents here know by heart, the official flood stage for this largest of towns along the lower river, and an all-important figure at such stormy moments.

There was good news on that front Thursday — a revised forecast from federal authorities showing the river is now not set to hit flood stage until Sunday, with a projected crest of just under 36 feet early Tuesday. Major damage occurs at 40 feet or higher.

At the True Value hardware store on River Road, semiretired attorney David Gardner purchased some firewood. Gardner said he was pretty well stocked for the coming storms, with plenty of propane canisters, camping gear, a crank survival radio/flashlight and lots of water.

Gardner, who lives up on a ridge, said his home was flood-safe and that he had an inflatable canoe for flooded streets, “in case it get’s really bad.” He’s also got an extra car battery with a power inverter at home until the electricity comes back online.

“I’m planning to go off-grid in the future,” he said. “With all these climate predictions … by 2040, it’s game over, no more civilization.”

Unlike the last devastating flood in 2019, during this round of storms Guerneville residents are having to endure the loss of electricity. Nearly 1,200 customers were without power as of Thursday evening, down from about 3,500 in the morning outage that all but shut down the community.

Only businesses equipped with generators, such as Safeway, gas stations, convenience and liquor stores and hardware stores remained open. The popular King’s Sport & Tackle and Guerneville 5 & 10 also were open.

Residents with small portable generators fared a little better than most.

“As they say in ‘The Sound of Music,’ the hills are a live with the sound of generators,” said David Erik, who lives on 4th Street and has a generator in his home.

Erik, who sells premium wines for a living, said his cell service carrier, AT&T, recently put up a 5G cell tower that gives him excellent streaming capabilities. He said he’s ready for the coming storms and has been storm-proofing the first floor of his home since the 2019 flood.

“After 18 years living here, I started rebuilding the attic and have stored a lot of things up there,” he said.

The river’s floods are both nerve-wracking and awe-inspiring.

“I’m getting used to it,” he said. “You tend to go between worry and beauty here. There’s a beauty to it all, but you do worry.”

Early Thursday morning, Madeline Thayer, 37, visited Johnson’s Beach to check on the height of the river. Like many other residents, she uses beach signs and other markers to gauge the fast-rising waters.

“I wanted to see how much it's come up since the last time I was here and it definitely has risen noticeably,” Thayer said, standing just feet from the expanding waterline at Johnson's Beach.

Thayer had just gotten back from a trip to Santa Rosa, where she bought dry ice to keep her freezer and refrigerator perishables from spoiling.

Thayer, who purchased a generator just before power was restored late Thursday afternoon, said she has an exit plan in case the coming storms bring severe flooding and more outages.

“I was thinking of going to LA,” she said, adding that she has family there. “There’s a part of my that still might go.”

Both Erik and Thayer pointed out that natural disasters tend to bring residents in west county closer together. “One of the most beautiful things about these times is everybody is willing to help their neighbors,” Erik said.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @pressreno.