Storm fatigue rises in Sonoma County as Russian River floods again

GUERNEVILLE - For fourth time in six weeks, the Russian River jumped its banks Friday in what has become a familiar and irksome ritual that has some in western Sonoma County looking back fondly on the last few years of drought.

The strong series of storms this winter and rising water levels on the river are a fact of life for many here. But some say they’ve had enough and are tired of putting their lives on hold.

“We’re so sick of it we’re moving,” said Brandi Courrier, who lives in a rental cabin home on Sycamore Court, behind the Fife Creek Commons housing complex.

On Friday afternoon, as the river crested above 34 feet, Courrier and her husband, Ricky Ramirez, parked their car at the edge of the flood waters to check on Courrier’s 68-year-old mother, who also lives in a rental cabin, and their pets.

Donning rubber boots, Ramirez waded through the brown, knee-high waters to their rental, where their cat greeted him. Courrier said the couple moved into the Sycamore property two years ago, and though “it’s beautiful here most months,” this winter has pushed them to a breaking point.

“It’s not worth battling the river every winter,” Courrier said.

The couple left their property two nights before the latest storm hit and lodged at a Best Western in Santa Rosa. They’ve been looking at rental properties since then and plan to move over the weekend, before the next storm arrives next week.

January was the wettest on record in Santa Rosa, dropping nearly 19 inches of rain at the county airport north of town. Nine more inches have been recorded at the airport in February. At Venado, in the hills west of Healdsburg - typically the wettest area in the county - just under 70 inches has fallen since the start of the year.

The latest storm this week dropped more than 4 inches in Cazadero and about 2 inches along the Highway 101 corridor from Cloverdale to Santa Rosa.

Another strong storm series is expected to hit the North Coast by late Wednesday or early Thursday. Bob Benjamin, a forecaster for the National Weather Service, said that storm is once again carrying a load of subtropical moisture and “has a chance of being formidable.”

For longtime Russian River-area residents, such storms are the norm.

“We’ve been spoiled,” said Jeff Bridges, general manager of the r3 Hotel on 4th Street in Guerneville, referring to past winters with sunnier weather.

Bridges said the current barrage of rainstorms is “actually what winter should be like” in Sonoma County. And it’s the price you pay for living here, he said.

Businesses remain open and daily rituals continue, he said, something that news coverage of storms doesn’t always reflect.

Just down the street, The Woods Resort is still recovering from January’s flood, when Fife Creek jumped its banks and sent more than 2 feet of water into six hotel rooms, the laundry room and office space. Drywall, some framing, electrical wiring and washers and dryers had to be replaced, said resort owner Michael Preaseau.

“You gotta look at the bright side,” he said. “It’s a remodel.”

Throughout Friday, emergency crews responded to reports of downed trees, mudslides and slip-outs. The county issued an advisory evacuation notice to several hundred residents living along the Russian River flood zone.

“We’re seeing a lot of slides and a lot of slip-outs out there,” said Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman.

At least 17 roads in unincorporated Sonoma County remained closed Friday as a result of this week’s storms.

Highway 1 was closed at three locations along the Mendocino Coast and Highway 37; the stretch between Highway 101 and Atherton Avenue could remain closed for two more weeks because of flooding. An emergency repair for Highway 37, slated to begin in March, would look to raise a half-mile section of the road at a cost of up to $11 million.

The Sonoma County Water Agency reported two wastewater overflows within the Russian River County Sanitation District. They took place at manholes near lift stations and were caused by heavy rainfall. Sanitation crews made efforts to reduce the inflow into the wastewater collection system.

Chief Max Ming of the Russian River Fire Protection District said Friday morning that he and his crews would be out surveying the back roads of the Russian River corridor, searching for washed-out roadways and mudslides.

“There are several areas that have little ones,” he said. “Those will just pop up wherever they can.”

About 8:30 a.m., emergency crews rescued a woman who was stranded on top of her truck, which was stuck in rising waters near Trenton-Healdsburg Road and Ritchurst Place in Forestville.

On Thursday evening, Santa Rosa fire crews rescued a middle-aged man who had fallen down an embankment and was stuck in the mud in Santa Rosa Creek, near the Pearson Street overpass.

Since Oct. 1, the start of the current rain season, Santa Rosa has been deluged with 46.55 inches of rain. That’s 205 percent of the average rainfall total for the same period. The outpost of Venado is at more than 115 inches, or 10 feet, of rain since Oct. 1.

“These are very impressive numbers,” said Charles Bell, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

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