Stranded town of Monte Rio copes with worst Russian River flood in decades

MONTE RIO

Three days after floodwaters marooned hundreds of people in rural communities that dot the Russian River, Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman climbed up the rickety wooden stairs of a modest home to check on an elderly resident.

The 82-year-old man hadn’t answered his phone since the rainstorm and flooding overtook his river enclave, causing friends to worry. But he opened the door when Baxman knocked Thursday afternoon to check on him, finding the man warm and dry in sweats and slippers.

“Are you doing OK, buddy? Everybody’s worried about you,” Baxman said to the man, who in his younger years used to paint the community’s fire trucks.

Jolly and bemused anyone might worry about him, he seemed to be just fine.

“That’s how I like it to end up,” said Baxman, a river stalwart for almost half a century, as he descended the stairs and got back into the heavy-?duty highwater truck - a 1989 AM General - he uses to ford flooded roads. “He’s OK. He’s having a blast.”

The treacherous, swirling currents of the Russian River had swallowed what was once Monte Rio’s expansive beach and subsumed all but the top floors and roofs of most of its waterfront homes and inns, including the Highland Dell, with its iconic ?gingerbread roofline.

Flooding and mudslides have made all routes in and out of town impassible since Tuesday. Hundreds of people waited out the storm in their homes, watching closely to see just how far the waters would go. Some had electricity but others didn’t.

The river crested late Wednesday and began to recede just as quickly. By Thursday afternoon, more roads within town were passable with highwater vehicles and work crews had cleared Main Street, leading to Bohemian Highway and nearby Occidental.

People milled about Monte Rio, sharing stories and trading banter with fellow residents, some of whom they had spoken with in years.

John and Cat Markham watched a basketball float atop the Russian River’s coffee-colored surface from the bridge in Monte Rio that connects the two sides of town. Normally it towers high above the river, but the flows this week had swallowed much of the floodplain and nearly reached the span’s deck.

The Markhams’ garage was flooded at their River Boulevard home, but they still had power and could get around in a canoe. At one point during the storm’s peak, they second-guessed their decision to stay.

“At that point we were committed,” said John Markham. Next comes weeks of cleanup.

“You just clean it out, put a heater in it to dry it out,” Markham said. “These homes are built to flood.”

Longtime Monte Rio residents are used to floods. Many homes are built with living quarters on second floors atop garages. Still, the damage may be significant for this town of nearly 1,500 residents. That will become clear in the coming days as the river recedes.

Then there will be the inevitable piles of trash and debris left behind by floodwaters on riverside properties and once-inundated roads.

Just south of the Monte Rio bridge, that detritus included stacks of soggy insulation deposited on Bohemian Highway. Roadside culverts were clogged by such things as coolers, helmets and all manner of plastic litter.

Monte Rio’s fire department is staffed with 12 volunteers, including its chief. The normally sleepy station was abuzz Thursday as one of the few places for residents to go for information and help.

“We had a woman come in, ask to use the bathroom. Next thing I know she’s taking a shower,” Baxman said with a shrug and a laugh.

Baxman sent three volunteer firefighters, including his girlfriend Gabriela Gibson, to help mop up the flooded floors of Bartlett’s Market to hasten its reopening. Holed up for days, people were in need of fresh supplies. Baxman said he and his volunteers also will help the local school clean out its refrigerators, which are likely full of rotting food.

“We’re trying to get things going,” Baxman said. He was standing outside the fire station talking to a pair of National Guardsmen in a highwater truck preparing to take a postmaster across flooded roads to post offices in Duncans Mills and Jenner.

A longtime neighbor, Bob Johnson, walked up with a 1-gallon gasoline can. He needed a refill to keep the generator running at his Bohemian Highway home, blocked in by a massive mudslide when a northwestern flank of Mount Heller collapsed about 1 p.m. Tuesday, unleashing tons of mud, rocks and toppling trees.

“It was so scary,” Johnson said, describing the cacophony of falling debris and trees. “Bang, bang, bang! Like a cannon going off.”

Baxman went into the station to see if he had any gasoline. He reemerged and handed Johnson a partially refilled can.

The storm’s heavy blow has left Baxman’s radio crackling with frequent reports, ranging from expected hazards - downed power lines - to more personal requests for aid, including help refilling medical prescriptions.

On Thursday, he climbed back into his 1989 AM General and headed south on Main Street to meet a PG&E worker and check on power lines weighed down by toppled trees.

On the way back, Baxman waved out the window at Tia Resleure and Lois Phillips, neighbors on Park Avenue. The women had climbed up a muddy hillside to a clear road and then walked into town.

Resleure said most of her belongings were in boxes on the floor because she was packing to move to Guerneville. As the water level rose, she rushed to hang pictures back up on the wall. Many of her possessions were soaked.

Still, she sounded an optimistic note. She was moving to higher ground, a new place with a 70-step staircase 200 feet above the river.

Baxman kept chugging down the road, heading to areas newly accessible again.

“We’re pretty resilient here,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.