About 3,000 in Guerneville, Monte Rio advised to evacuate due to Russian River flooding
A punishing winter storm brought flooding, mudslides and power outages across the North Coast and pushed the lower Russian River toward its banks Sunday night, prompting the first evacuation advisories in 11 years for 3,000 people whose homes and businesses may be inundated with water Monday.
All eyes were on the rising water along the Russian River through west Sonoma County communities like Guerneville, Monte Rio and Duncans Mills, where the river was expected to reach flood stage late Sunday and crest around noon Monday at 37 feet - 5 feet above flood stage.
That would trigger “moderate” flooding in low-lying areas of the Russian River near Guerneville and farther west, according to National Weather Service models.
About 650 homes and businesses are in the area of the evacuation notices. In Guerneville, the area encompasses River and Old River roads, and in Monte Rio, along Freezeout Road off Moscow Road.
Residents received automated phone and text messages advising them to evacuate their homes and seek shelter elsewhere.
The county established a shelter at the Santa Rosa Veterans Building Sunday afternoon and offered people rides away from the river, departing from the Mirabel Park and Ride - across from Burke's Canoe Rental - and from the parking lot of the Guerneville Safeway. Rides also could be requested by calling 707-585-7541.
County officials issued the evacuation advisories out of “an abundance of caution,” said spokeswoman Rebecca Wachsberg.
The last time officials took such action was New Year's weekend in 2006, when powerful storms swelled the Russian River to 42 feet, sparking floods, sending 600 people to Red Cross shelters and causing $300 million in damage.
The storms that blew into the North Bay over the past week, while potent, lacked similar destructive power. No significant injuries have been reported, while flooding damages are still being assessed.
School closures for Monday were announced by the Forestville, Harmony, Monte Rio and Alexander Valley union school districts, Guerneville School District, and Cloverdale and Geyserville unified school districts.
Santa Rosa Junior College also planned to keep its Shone Farm property off Eastside Road near Riverfront Regional Park shut down for the day, due to potential river flooding.
The forecast calls for rain showers Monday, followed by another storm Tuesday expected to bring moderate amounts of precipitation through the middle of the week.
Weekend storms dumped nearly a foot of rain over a 48-hour period from Friday to Sunday evening in Venado, a weather station west of Healdsburg. That was the most of any location in the Bay Area by several inches.
Lake Sonoma recorded more than 6 inches of rain over the same period, while Windsor, Occidental and Monte Rio topped 4 inches.
Santa Rosa recorded 3.45 inches, bringing its seasonal total to 25.72 inches, about 1 1/2 times average.
“It's a hell of a start,” Bob Benjamin, a forecaster for the National Weather Service, said of the mid-winter precipitation totals.
Also Monday, authorities in Petaluma will be keeping close watch on the Petaluma River, which is actually a tidal slough and, thus, likely to be highly reactive to a very high tide expected to arrive shortly before 10:30 a.m.
The river topped its bank early Sunday, as well, submerging several low-lying areas mainly in the north part of town and closing the Petaluma Auto Mall.
Several motorists required rescue from stalled vehicles, including one on North McDowell Boulevard and another on Corona Road near the river, where two occupants were taken to safety by civilians in a kayak, police Petaluma Police Lt. Tim Lyons said.
At least two homes were surrounded by floodwaters, and employees at a local Chevron gas station were helped to safety as well.
The rising water threatened to flood the Leisure Lake Mobile Home Park on Stony Point Road, though evacuations ultimately were unnecessary thanks to subsiding rain and receding tides.
Given additional rain in the forecast and Monday's high tide, “we have some more local flooding then,” Lyons said.
The weekend storm dumped 2-to-3 inches of rain in most areas with much in the coastal hills. Much of that will seek the river and other low points collecting runoff for several days, officials said.
In the meantime, low-lying roadways around the county were under water Sunday after torrential rains through the previous night.
Among the road closures was northbound Highway 101 in Windsor, where the lanes were covered by 3 feet of water at one point, trapping several motorists in the early morning hours.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: