Storm hits Mendocino, Lake counties with power outages, road closures

Steady rain and high winds overnight brought massive power outages to the Mendocino Coast Tuesday.

More than 11,500 PG&E customers were reported without power in the county, most of them along the coast. More than 9,000 people in Fort Bragg and more than 1,700 in Mendocino were without power, according to PG&E’s website. Smaller outages affecting from 2 to 216 PG&E customers also were reported in Philo, Willits, Leggett, Laytonville, Albion, Westport, Elk, Hopland, Dos Rios and Point Arena.

Details of the causes of the outages and when they’re expected to be repaired were not immediately available.

Rain also brought Clear Lake’s level closer to flooding stage. The lake level at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday morning reached 8.49 on the Rumsey gauge, a shoreline water mark based on a rock formation. Flooding becomes a threat from the lake when it reaches 9 feet on the Rumsey gauge.

The storm brought flooding and mudslides to vulnerable areas, closing several road sections. They include Highway 1 near its junction of Highway 271 in far northern Mendocino County; Highway 128 west of Highway 1; and Highway 175 in Hopland, according to Caltrans and the CHP.

Mendocino County roads impacted include Fishrock Road and a section of Mallard Street in Brooktrails.

Few outages were reported in Lake County, but multiple county roads were affected by mudslides, flooding and downed trees, according to the county Public Works Department. They included Twin Valley Road in Clearlake Oaks; Anderson Springs Road, Deiner Drive, Rose Anderson Road, Salamina Road and Socrates Mine Road in the Cobb area; Argonaut Road, Bell Hill Road and Clark Drive in the Kelseyville area; Hill Road, Scotts Valley Road and South Main Street in Lakeport; and Lakeshore Blvd. in Nice.