Fresno County has closed the San Joaquin and Kings rivers because of rising stormwaters that could threaten boaters and anglers, Sheriff John Zanoni said Tuesday afternoon. Anyone caught violating the closures could be subject to a misdemeanor citation, he told reporters at a storm news briefing. The Sheriff's Office is...
Flood Times Two: Flood Watch and Advisory for Valley, Sierra
The moisture-dense storm soaking the Valley and Sierra on Tuesday has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a flood advisory in addition to a flood watch that's been in effect since Sunday. Heavy rain — the Valley's forecast is for as much as 1.5 inches rain, and 3 to...
Fresno Deputies Rescue 3 Elderly Women Trapped by Rising Floodwaters
Rising water from heavy rains and snowmelt knocked out a culvert that trapped three elderly women, including a 104-year-old, in their Squaw Valley area home until Fresno County sheriff's deputies could rescue them Friday, Sheriff John Zanoni told reporters. And it wasn't the only rescue. CalFire Capt. Dustin Hail said...
Winter Storm Brings Road Closures, Flash Flood Watches, Surging Rivers
The rain-rich storm drenching Central California had flooded some roadways by early Friday morning, and the foothills in eastern Fresno, Madera, and Tulare counties were under flash flood warnings through 11 a.m. Friday. The National Weather Service extended the flash flood warning for northern Fresno County, including the city of...
Fresno County Expands Flood-Zone Evacuation Warning: ‘Be Ready for Unrivaled Flood Event’
Fresno County officials renewed their dire warnings Thursday about the winter storm that's forecast to drop 2 to 3 inches of rain on the Valley floor and as much as 8 inches in the Sierra starting Thursday afternoon. The minimum stream flows that have been predicted are at the upper...
EXPLAINER: Tackling Threat of Mudslides in Soaked California
SAN DIEGO — Relentless storms from a series of atmospheric rivers have saturated the steep mountains and bald hillsides scarred from wildfires along much of California's long coastline, causing hundreds of landslides this month. So far the debris has mostly blocked roads and highways and has not harmed communities as in 2018...
Recent Storms ‘Just a Drop in the Bucket’ for California Drought
California has experienced a devastating, multi-year drought that’s depleted reservoirs, forced officials to plead with residents to conserve water and constrained supplies to vital farmland. Suddenly, the state has been hit by a severe series of storms, with more expected in the coming days. The rain is soaking a state...
Search Called off for Boy Swept Away by California Flooding
LOS ANGELES — Rescuers have ended the search for a 5-year-old boy who was swept away by floodwaters in central California Monday morning after it became unsafe for divers to continue. The search was called off around 3 p.m. because the current and rising water levels of the Salinas River...
Southern California Mountains Coated in Snow After Storm
MOUNT BALDY VILLAGE — Southern California’s mountains sported a substantial coat of snow Tuesday after the region’s first significant storm of the winter. Ski and snowboarding areas in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains reported as much as 24 inches of new snow from the vigorous storm that rolled...
Tahoe and Reno Expecting Heavy Snows, 100 Mph Wind from Latest Storm
RENO, Nev. — Hundreds of homes were without power around Reno Tuesday as another early winter storm packing winds more powerful than the last one started blowing into the Sierra. More than a foot of snow is possible in the mountains around Lake Tahoe by Wednesday. The National Weather Service...