Healdsburg bounces back quickly from flooding

Healdsburg was in cleanup mode Friday, mopping up the mess left behind after the stormwater that temporarily transformed its downtown into canals receded.

With the exception of minor puddles, most streets and parking lots were clear of water.

Businesses had been clearing out mud, water and debris since Thursday afternoon. Most had reopened their doors Friday, aiming to draw holiday shoppers even as drywall and floors were being ripped out.

“We must open. We’re in the Christmas season,” said Monica Zhari, owner of Casablanca Boutique on Healdsburg Avenue, which is one of the city’s main thoroughfares and saw some of the worst flooding in Sonoma County.

Workers were tearing out the carpet in her store after she found water, 3 inches deep, had seeped in despite the mounds of sandbags out front.

“I feel blessed that I wasn’t significantly affected like others,” Zhari said.

The storm rolled into the county late Wednesday. Nearly 6 inches of rain had fallen on Healdsburg within 24 hours. It filled Foss Creek, which then spilled over onto nearby streets and sent water flowing into more than two dozen downtown businesses.

The flooding also knocked out traffic lights and submerged cars. Businesses complained debris clogged some of the storm drains and, with nowhere to go, water forced its way into their commercial offices, stores and tasting rooms.

Healdsburg has seen some flooding during big storms, but city officials said the large amount of rainfall in a short period of time created a much more difficult situation.

“We’re an old city. Some of our storm drains are not very big,” Councilman Gary Plass said.

Several years ago, the city built a stormwater detention basin for Foss Creek, he added. But the torrential rains overwhelmed it this time.

“The majority of the time it takes care of the problem,” he said about the basin. “But sometimes Mother Nature dumps on us.”

While he heard some residents grumble about the city’s response, he said it did the best it could to keep damage at a minimum.

“I’m a little bit at a loss on what else we could do,” he said. “We’ve done a great job diverting. But this (storm) was very intense.”

City Manager David Mickaelian said most of the damage reported was to downtown businesses. The Healdsburg fire station also was flooded.

Mickaelian said the city still is assessing the damage. City officials declared a local emergency Thursday and are working on bringing in state and federal aid for residents and businesses who suffered financial losses from the storm, such as Vanguard Properties.

Both of the real estate firm’s offices - one on Healdsburg Avenue and the other on Center Street - were heavily damaged in the storm, manager Grace Lucero said.

A crew with Santa Rosa-based Holly & Associates on Friday afternoon was removing soaked carpet and drywall from the first floor of Vanguard’s Healdsburg Avenue location, which opened just six months ago. Meanwhile, real estate agents moved upstairs to do their work.

“You can’t take chances,” said Lucero, who found 3 inches of water throughout the office Thursday morning. “You don’t want to develop mold.”

Staff members had been using fans to try to dry out the 100-year-old oak wood floors, which Lucero hoped would not have to be replaced.

The second office saw a similar amount of water creep in despite sandbags out front. Chairs and other furniture were stacked up inside. Although it’ll take about two weeks to clean up the offices, Lucero said they planned to keep the office open.

“It’s good it’s the holiday season. A lot of people are taking time off,” she said.

Down the block, Christian Stark was preparing for a holiday party at his tasting room, Stark Wines, which sits on Healdsburg Avenue next to Foss Creek. Although three wine barrels were floating in 3 feet of water in the courtyard in front of his business, sandbags and a plastic tarp prevented water from going inside.

“We definitely avoided a major disaster,” Stark said.

“We only lost an eight-pack of toilet paper,” added Ethan Cline, the sales and hospitality manager.

Both men said storm drains in front of the business were blocked Thursday.

Mickaelian said city staff had prepared for the storm, ensuring storm drains weren’t blocked. However, he said it’s likely trash and other debris floated into the streets during the storm and backed up drains.

Although they weren’t anticipating the large amount of rain that fell on the city, Carla Howell, executive director of the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce, said most businesses had prepared for the storm by protecting their business with sandbags and tarps, among other measures. She said many bounced back quickly, particularly after the chamber sent out a call for volunteers to help clean up. She said many showed up Thursday armed with mops and squeegees.

“The whole community responded well,” she said, adding, “Healdsburg is open for business. No one should be discouraged in coming.”

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @eloisanews.