Death toll rises to 18, cleanup continues as another storm targets California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Repair and cleanup efforts were continuing across California on Wednesday, even as the weather-weary state found itself in the path of yet another in a seemingly ceaseless parade of storms.

The latest system – the seventh atmospheric river storm to train its eye on the state since Christmas – threatens to further swamp a state already reeling from widespread flooding, mudslides, washed-out roads and downed trees and power lines.

“I guess it’s about time we had this kind of notoriety,” said Alan Vidunas, as he walked in the devastated seaside town of Capitola with his 10-year-old dog, Seabass. “I always call my friends in Florida after they’ve been hit by hurricanes. They’re now calling me.”

Capitola, in Santa Cruz County, is but one of many California communities trying to get its arms around the damage wrought by recent storms – which showered sheets of rain across the state, causing roadways to flood, hillsides to crumble and rivers and creeks to crest their banks.

Sonoma County sheriff’s officials on Wednesday announced a person had been found dead in a car submerged in 8 to 10 feet of water, bringing the total number of confirmed storm-related fatalities to 18.

A tornado also briefly touched down in Calaveras County on Tuesday , causing extensive tree damage, according to the National Weather Service.

Widespread flooding forced the evacuation of the community of Planada, a town of about 4,000 people just east of Merced. Though water levels have started to recede, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that it was “unsafe to go back into flooded areas” and the evacuation order was still in place.

County Supervisor Rodrigo Espinosa said more than half the town, which is home to many farmworkers, flooded. Officials were hoping to marshal government and nonprofit resources to get aid to people, he added, and were also working furiously to shore up the sewage plant in Planada so it doesn’t send raw sewage into the already decimated community.

“It’s very sad,” he said. “We’re just trying to get help to residents.”

Nearly 41,000 Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers in Northern and Central California remained without power because of storm-related outages Wednesday morning. The utility has called this “the single largest winter storm response” in its history.

“The weather looks favorable for restoration over the next few days, although issues with flooding and access remain in some locations,” officials said.

Recovery efforts are underway under the looming threat of even more storms, which could further douse some already inundated areas through the weekend.

Over the last 16 days, “large portions of Central California received over half their annual normal precipitation,” according to the National Weather Service. That was true in Oakland at 69%; Santa Barbara 64%; Stockton 60%; downtown San Francisco 59%; and downtown Sacramento 50%.

Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend characterized recent storms as “a once-in-a-generational challenging event” that has affected the whole county.

“We know this is going to be a long rebuild. We know we’re going to need a lot of resources,” he said during a news conference Tuesday. “But what we also need is a sense of resilience from all of us to be able to rebuild this area – because we’ve seen the tears, we’ve seen the anger, but we’re moving into a resilience phase where we’re just trying to rebuild, bring that hope back.”

Michael Anderson, state climatologist with the California Department of Water Resources, said the forecast indicates a reprieve after Jan. 20.

“High pressure will build in, and we’ll see a little chance to recover from these series of storms,” he said.

Although it’s too early to estimate, the cost to repair the damage from these storms could exceed $1 billion, said Adam Smith, an applied climatologist and disaster expert with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. California’s storms would be the first billion-dollar disaster of 2023.

Jeremy Arrich, manager of the Division of Flood Management with the Department of Water Resources, said five river locations in the state are forecast to exceed the flood stage in the coming days, including the Salinas River at Spreckels in Monterey County. There are 23 river sites forecast to reach the monitor stage, though the numbers could change as conditions develop.