Thousands Flee Flooding: Bay Area Storm

BAY AREA — The Russian River's record flood level is 49.5 feet set on Feb. 18, 1986. Forecasters believe that it will hit 45.9 feet at 10 p.m. on Wednesday. As a result, mandatory evacuation orders were issued Tuesday for two dozen communities, sending thousands of people fleeing ahead of rising water. For those who did not heed the warning on Tuesday — it's already too late. Guerneville is officially landlocked with all roads leading from the town flooded.

The evacuated communities are Asti, Bailhache, Chianti, Guerneville, Guernewood, Guernewood Park, Hacienda, Jenner, Jimtown, Korbel, Lytton, Northwood, Northwood Lodge, Rolands, Sheridan, Duncans Mills, El Bonita, Mirabel Heights, Mirabel Park, Monte Rio, Montesano, Summerhome Park, Vacation Beach and Wilson Grove.

At 5:15 a.m. on Wednesday, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office tweeted that the Russian River is already at 40.5 feet.

Napa is also headed for flooding. Residents and business owners with property in low-lying areas along the Napa River that have flooded in the past are encouraged to monitor weather conditions because the river will exceed flood stage early Wednesday morning, city officials said Tuesday. The officials said some of those areas are Lincoln Avenue west of the river, Soscol Avenue at Lincoln Avenue south to the flood bypass, the Lake Park neighborhood, the Taylor Street neighborhood and the area near South Coombs Street and West Imola Avenue.

A driver had to be rescued Tuesday afternoon in Petaluma after going around closed road barricades and ending up in a flooded ditch, police said. The rescue occurred on Stony Point Road, which remains closed from Petaluma Boulevard North to Pepper Road, according to police.

A mudslide containing logs and trees is blocking several hundred yards of the Bohemian Highway in Monte Rio, Monte Rio Fire Protection District Chief Steve Baxman said Tuesday afternoon. The 6-8-feet deep slide in the 9500 block of Bohemian Highway in west Sonoma County occurred around 1 p.m., Baxman said.

According to National Weather Service meteorologist Cynthia Palmer, there were widespread precipitation totals in the North Bay ranging from 3.5 to 5.5 inches as of Tuesday morning. Several places were hit with up to 9 inches of rain and an area just south of Cazadero in Sonoma County endured close to 12.5 inches. And the rain continued to fall through Tuesday.

>> Sonoma County Storm Coverage: Russian River Evacuations Ordered

>> Napa County Storm Coverage: Flood Warning, Road Closures, Outages

"The North Bay is really still under the gun," Palmer said. "We're calling for another 3 inches to 5 inches of rain up there. They're not done yet."

While the largest impacts so far have been felt by communities in the North Bay, rain and winds ranging from 40 mph to 60 mph have whipped though many parts of the Bay Area, downing power lines and inconveniencing airline passengers.

San Francisco International Airport reported 137 cancellations and 118 delays, mostly affecting short-haul flights, according to SFO airport duty manager Jeff Rocheford.

More than 11,500 customers are without power early Wednesday as the Bay Area feels the aftereffects of an atmospheric river that moved through the region on Monday and Tuesday, according to Pacific, Gas and Electric officials. The most impacted area is the North Bay, which has 6,604 customers without power early Wednesday morning. The East Bay has 3,609 customers
powerless, the South Bay 675, the Peninsula 588 and San Francisco 28, according to PG&E spokeswoman Karly Hernandez.

"As another storm impacts Northern California, customers should be prepared for potential outages related to wet and windy weather the next few days," PG&E meteorologist Mike Voss said.

PG&E is reminding people to stay away from downed power lines, stock up on emergency supplies and unplug or turn off appliances during a power outage to avoid overloading circuits and prevent fire hazards when power is restored.

The brunt of the storm will hit through Tuesday night, with some lingering showers throughout the day Wednesday and Wednesday night.

"We should get a bit of a break Thursday and Friday, but we will get another storm Friday evening into Saturday," Palmer said. "I don't think we're going to see near as much (rain) out of this next one, from a half inch to one inch in most places. It's a fast-moving system."

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— Patch editors Bea Karnes and Maggie Avants, and Bay City News contributed to this story