Dozens flee to shelter after Russian River swells

Rhondell Rasmus only had one more trip to make in her Toyota Camry before she would be done moving all of her belongings from Sebastopol to her new home in Santa Rosa. She packed the last of her boxes late Tuesday night after going to the gym and began driving to Santa Rosa, her car filled with some of her most cherished mementos.

As Rasmus wove through the back roads of Sebastopol, she suddenly found herself stuck on the side of a road in water too deep to drive through. When she called emergency dispatchers Rasmus said she was told to wait for help. But just before dawn, Rasmus awoke in her car to discover that it had run out of gas and was nearly submerged in water, she said.

Rasmus grabbed what she could carry and fled on foot, finding her way to the emergency shelter in Sebastopol on Wednesday afternoon.

“This was the worst I have seen it in all of the ?50 years I have lived here,” said Rasmus, who brought with her one handbag, a backpack and a pair of rain boots. “The water just came up so fast next to my car, it was crazy, and I had to leave some stuff behind.”

Volunteers from the American Red Cross helped Rasmus carry her things into the emergency pop-up shelter at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts on Wednesday while light showers continued to soak the North Bay.

American Red Cross volunteer coordinator Barbara Wood said the shelter had seen a steady flow of people since opening on Tuesday to serve residents displaced by the storm and homeless people living along the Russian River.

“Having these shelters open during weather emergencies gives people a peace of mind to know there is always a place to go,” Wood said.

In Santa Rosa, cots piled high with white blankets, towels and snacks lined the walls of the emergency shelter at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds on Wednesday morning as volunteers ushered individuals to tables with warm clothes and hot coffee.

The shelters opened late Tuesday afternoon as rain pounded the area and forced west county residents to evacuate their homes as the river swelled. About 90 people, including those who were evacuated and some who were homeless, were waiting out the flood at the two shelters, located at the fairgrounds’ Grace Pavilion in Santa Rosa and the Center for the Arts in Sebastopol.

Ben MacArthur said he and his pup, Lucky, fled the Guerneville area at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday after water had risen to his waist. The pair sloshed through flooded neighborhoods before finding the free shuttle at the Guerneville Veterans Memorial Building.

“I had to leave everything behind in a now-abandoned RV and could only take a backpack before we had to get out of there,” said MacArthur, 44. “I didn’t believe them at first when they said there was going to be flooding, but the water started rising so fast we barely got out.”

Volunteers provided updates on the flood Wednesday to people housed at the shelters. Tim Miller, executive director of West County Community Services, told a crowd at a 10:45 a.m. meeting in Santa Rosa that the shelter would remain open until at least Friday morning.

“The Russian River has hit 43 feet in some parts, and we’re just happy you made it here safely,” said Miller to the group of people who gasped when he announced the river height. “We know this is causing a lot of anxiety because we don’t know when you’ll all be able to return to where you were staying.”

About 10 locals with RVs headed to the fairgrounds once floodwaters threatened their safety, shelter manager Greg Baker said. But the majority of the people there were brought by a free shuttle service that helped evacuate a Guerneville homeless shelter, he said.

“When the shelter in Guerneville determined their access to supplies might be cut off, we worked with the county to open up this shelter,” Baker said. “It’s better that everyone is safe here together as opposed to being in an encampment along the river’s edge, which can mean life or death.”

The Salvation Army and the Red Cross helped provide meals, clothes and toiletries to both emergency shelters, which coordinators said will remain open until roads are cleared and everyone has a place to go.

Sebastopol resident Pat O’Dell lives in a van which he said he parks throughout the city. Over the last year he has gotten to know others who live in their vans and was out on the streets Wednesday helping people move to the shelter, he said.

He spent most of the day walking neighborhoods in areas that he said were vulnerable and might need help.

“I was lucky that I moved my van to higher ground and am not in a bad situation,” said O’Dell in front of the Center for the Arts while helping people escape the rain and get inside the shelter. “But there are people who need to know there is a place they can go if they are worried about food or need a safe place to regroup.”

Miller said the warm food being served three times daily at both shelters was a welcome sight for those who hadn’t eaten in over a day.

A handful of animals were snuggled with their owners on the cots in Santa Rosa, while dozens of other pet owners lined up to pick up dog treats at a nearby donation table.

Free veterinarian services for pets and medical evaluations for those staying at the shelters were also available free of charge.

“I don’t know if I will ever recover what I left behind in my car but the community here is truly wonderful and everyone has reached out to help me,” Rasmus said.