Relentless rain
Tuolumne County residents prepare to weather incoming storms
Tuolumne County residents were lining up Thursday to get free sandbags made available through the county Office of Emergency Services, in preparation for an atmospheric river storm that was expected to bring heavy rain later that day and throughout much of the weekend.
Each person was limited to 10 free bags, which were being filled and handed out from 10 a.m. through about 4 p.m. by volunteers at three locations in Columbia, Tuolumne and Big Oak Flat.
Members of an Americorps National Civilian Community Corps team that’s been working with Camp Tuolumne Trails in Groveland since January were helping out Thursday at the sand location in the parking lot of Columbia Airport.
The Americorps NCCC team members in Columbia estimated that they had given out at least 400 bags as of about 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
“This is part of our disaster relief efforts,” Hannah Blakely, an Americorps NCCC team member from Wheeling, West Virginia. “We get called out on things like this when the community needs us.”
Other members of Blakely’s team were helping at the sandbag location at 11242 Wards Ferry Road in Big Oak Flat. A third location was also added at the Tuolumne Fire District’s station at 18690 Main St. in Tuolumne, where people could get up to 10 pre-filled sandbags.
Some of the other NCCC team members, all of whom are between the ages of 18 and 24, came from places outside of California that included Atlanta, Georgia; Davidson, North Carolina; and Chicago.
Dore Bietz, county Office of Emergency Services coordinator, said it’s anticipated that the Americorps NCCC team members will be back at the three locations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday helping to fill and give out bags.
Sand would also still be available all day and night at the three locations for people to fill their own bags, as well as the corner of Seventh Avenue and Eighth Street in Jamestown. The county typically makes piles of sand available for free ahead of storms, but people have to bring their own bags and a shovel to fill them.
Potential sand locations for Saturday had yet to be announced Thursday afternoon.
Rick Modrell, owner of Sonora-based Modrell Transportation, pulled into the Columbia Airport parking lot about 1:30 p.m. Thursday in a truck hauling 22 tons of sand from Blue Mountain Minerals’ quarry in Columbia.
Modrell said it was the eighth load of sand he dropped off at various locations for the county, all of which was provided by Blue Mountain Minerals as a way to help the community.
The combination of heavy snow at lower elevations from recent storms over the past couple weeks combined with the warmer storm expected to dump as much as 7.5 inches of rain in Sonora and more higher up reminded Modrell of what led to historic floods in early 1997.
“It snowed real low, then we got warm storms and it flooded the valley, washed out Italian Bar,” he said. “I’m hoping that doesn’t happen with this one.”
A flood watch was in effect for the Mother Lode and surrounding areas from 1 p.m. Thursday through 10 a.m. Sunday, with the heaviest rain expected Thursday night into Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
However, the National Weather Service said in a briefing Thursday morning that this storm is not anticipated to be as severe as the 1997 floods.
Snow levels were supposed to go up to as high as 6,500 to 8,000 feet by 1 a.m. Friday before dropping back down and settling in the 5,500- to 6,500-foot range through much of the weekend.
Another storm was expected Monday and Tuesday, with an additional 4 inches of rain possible in Sonora and more at higher elevations.
The county Office of Emergency services was urging people who live in areas that received heavy snow over the past couple of weeks to be mindful of any snow accumulations on
their homes or other buildings on their property to avoid potential collapses.
People were recommended to contact a qualified professional for advice if they notice any cracks or other damage to their walls or ceiling finishes, sagging of their roof, leaky ceilings, crack or other unusual sounds, doors or windows becoming difficult to open or any other unusual issues with their structures.
Caltrans District 10, which includes Tuolumne and Calaveras counties, was also recommending that people stay off the roads as much as possible through this weekend and into early next week until the atmospheric river storm subsides.
Temperatures were not expected to dip low enough for the required number of consecutive days to trigger the opening of a 24-hour emergency shelter and provide funding from sources outside of the county.
However, the county is still offering temporary overnight shelter to unhoused individuals who are 60 or older, disabled, families with children, and youth ages 18 to 26 through Friday by calling the county Social Services Department during regular business hours at (209) 533-5711, or from 5 to 9 p.m. at (209) 768-9684.
The county Office of Emergency Services will evaluate the need to open a shelter should there be additional impacts from power outage or flooding.
Other locations open during the day where people can go to get out of the storm are:
• Sonora Main Library
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday (closed Sunday)
480 Greenley Road Sonora (209) 533-5507
• Tuolumne and Twain Harte libraries
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday (closed Sunday and Monday)v
• Groveland Library
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday (closed Sunday and Monday)
• Behavioral Health Enrichment Center
8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday (closed Saturday and Sunday) 101 Hospital Rd. Sonora • Lambert Community Center 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday
347 W. Jackson St., Sonora (209) 533-4879
Contact Alex Maclean at amaclean@uniondemocrat.com or (209) 588-4541.