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Overflowing Lagoon Floods Homes in California's Carmel-by-the-Sea; More Evacuations Ordered
By Ron Brackett
less than an hour ago
At a Glance
- Water backed up in the Carmel River Lagoon after heavy rains.
- One person was injured when mud and debris slammed into homes in Monterey County.
- More than 86,000 homes and businesses remained without power Thursday afternoon.
- Strong winds toppled trees into houses in Sacramento.
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office ordered evacuations Thursday for the Carmel River Lagoon area, including all roads south of Santa Lucia Avenue, and Mission Fields after water from the river backed up in the lagoon.
Water began flowing into homes near the lagoon after a natural sand levee was breached.
It was the latest damage caused by a winter storm that has already sent rivers of mud and debris into homes, toppled trees and closed roads in the northern and middle sections of California.
Residents of Southern California also have been warned to be ready for heavy rains from the low pressure system. The biggest worry is that the rain could cause landslides in areas left bare by the wildfires that have ravaged the state in the past year.
Officials are urging motorists not to drive through the Angeles National Forest in the coming days because of three large burn scars there, KTLA reported.
Los Angeles County residents near burn scars from the Bobcat Fire, the Lake Fire and the Ranch 2 Fire were told to make preparations for potential evacuations.
"In less than 24 hours we’re expecting somewhere between 2 and 5 inches of rain,” Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Henry Narvaez told KTLA. “Our concern is in these recently burned areas over the last few months, we’ve had some pretty big fires that have got rid of a lot of greenery that we need there on their hillside to hold it up.”
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department warned that evacuations might be needed in the Bond Fire burn area for homes located within Silverado Canyon, Williams Canyon and Modjeska Canyon.
Riverside County officials warned residents living in the Santa Ana River Bottom area to move to high ground because of the possibility of debris flows.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department warned that evacuations are possible around the El Dorado Fire burn area in northeast Yucaipa, Mountain Home Village and Oak Glen.
(MORE: California Atmospheric River Brings Flooding, Debris Flow Danger and Feet of Sierra Snow)
As of 4 a.m. Thursday, the storm had dumped almost a foot of rain over 48 hours in some areas in San Luis Obispo County, north of the Los Angeles area, according to the National Weather Service.
In neighboring Monterey County, where 6 to 9 inches of rain fell, more than two dozen homes and outbuildings were damaged when the rain unleashed debris flows, the county's Regional Fire Protection District said.
One resident was treated for broken bones after mud went “completely through the house,” said Dorothy Priolo with the Fire Protection District.
“At some locations, the mudflow came straight down the hill through the properties and across roads," Priolo told the Los Angeles Times. "In other cases, the mud flowed through trees and equipment or other items on the properties and became debris flows."
About 7,900 residents had been ordered to evacuate in the county, the district said.
Mud and floodwaters forced officials to close several roads, including U.S. Highway 101.
SPONSORED: Epic winter clearance sale at Sierra Trading Post
Officials said mudslides continued Thursday morning along River Road, which runs from the Salinas area to Soledad in south Monterey County, KION reported.
Evacuation orders for about 5,000 people remained in place early Thursday in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties where the rain threatened to cause debris flows in the CZU Lightning Complex burn scar. The orders were reduced to warnings later in the morning.
Other counties also warned residents to be ready to evacuate.
“Soils are becoming increasingly saturated so both debris flow and minor rock/mudslides will become increasingly likely where moderate to heavy rain rates occur,” National Weather Service forecasters said.
In addition to rain, the storm blew powerful winds across the state. Falling trees knocked out electricity to hundreds of thousands of customers. Pacific Gas & Electric said about 575,000 customers lost power Tuesday and Wednesday.
That number had fallen to about 87,000 customers as of about 3:30 p.m. PST Thursday, according to poweroutage.us.
Several trees fell across roads in Sacramento and at least two large trees crashed through the roofs of homes.
“I heard a crack, it broke off the tree and that (branch) came down four feet from my head,” Kathye Miller told the Sacramento Bee as she stood outside her home in Carmichael on Wednesday. “I was awake. I heard the wind, the wind was really obnoxious, and that big tree about two feet in diameter missed me by four feet.
“It came into my living room. It did not come into my bedroom, thank you, God.”
(WATCH: Sierra Is Getting Hammered by Heavy Snow)
The low-pressure system was also dumping snow in California's mountains. A blizzard warning remained in effect in the Sierra mountains through Friday morning on both sides of the California-Nevada border.
The snow continued to cause parts of Interstate 5 south of the Oregon border to be closed on Thursday.
Interstate 5 also closed in the Grapevine area in Kern County, north of Los Angeles, because of snow and ice.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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