Share
GUERNEVILLE — A California town north of San Francisco is accessible only by boat after the rain-swollen Russian River overflowed its banks and inundated it overnight, authorities said Wednesday.
“Guerneville is officially an island,” the Sonoma Sheriff’s Office said in a statement, adding that all roads leading to it are covered by water from the Russian River, which was forecast to swell more throughout the day.
The river topped 32 feet Tuesday evening and it could crest at more than 46 feet by Wednesday night, which would be the highest level in about a quarter-century.
There also was concern about potential mudslides in hillside areas saturated from days of downpours, and in areas scarred by 2017 wildfires.
A mudslide Tuesday near the community of Monte Rio near Guerneville trapped a man and a woman before they were rescued, messy but unharmed.
“I fell into the mud when the tree fell over the top of me. It happened so fast you don’t even know, you know?” Kear Koch told KGO-TV.
Monte Rio Was Also Isolated by Water
Elsewhere in the area, several people had to be rescued from cars stranded while motorists tried to drive through flooded roads, including a woman who was rescued by boat.
“We’ve spent lots of time pulling people out of cars that drive into the water and they get stuck and we got to pull them out,” Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Barman told KTUV-TV. “I wish people would pay attention to signs that say ‘flooded do not drive into the water.'”
Dee Rydberg on Tuesday removed computers and printers from her business, Guerneville Graphics and Printing.
“I could not afford to buy flood insurance,” she said. “So I’m packing up my stuff and getting out.”
Other waterways, including the Napa River, also were expected to overflow their banks as an ocean-spanning plume of moisture continued tracking through the West. Snow from the storms closed roads and schools and toppled trucks and trees from Oregon to Montana.
The National Weather Service also issued flood warnings and flash flood watches through Thursday morning for the San Francisco Bay Area and many parts of the Sacramento area.
RELATED TOPICS:
Fresno County Traffic Stop Leads to $600K Cocaine Bust
51 minutes ago
New US SEC Chair Says Crypto Sector Deserves Clear Regulations
1 hour ago
US Officials Arrest Milwaukee Judge for Obstructing Immigration Operation
2 hours ago
Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill
3 hours ago
China Exempts Some Goods From US Tariffs
3 hours ago
Luigi Mangione Due in Court for Arraignment as Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty
3 hours ago
Shedeur Sanders Snubbed in NFL Draft’s Round 1 but Leads List of Top Available Players for Day 2
3 hours ago
49ers Draft Georgia Edge Rusher Mykel Williams With the No. 11 Pick in the NFL Draft
3 hours ago
Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder
36 minutes ago
Categories

Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Willie Ray Butler

California’s Economy Ranks Fourth Worldwide, Surpasses Japan

Fresno County Traffic Stop Leads to $600K Cocaine Bust

New US SEC Chair Says Crypto Sector Deserves Clear Regulations

US Officials Arrest Milwaukee Judge for Obstructing Immigration Operation

Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill

Wired Wednesday: What’s the Future of Fresno Unified and the Superintendent Position?

Zakaria Draws Parallels Between Trump’s Tariffs, Failed 1930s Economic Policies
