Torrential rains over the holiday weekend have left Humboldt County reeling, with several roads damaged by flooding and impassable, and more rain on the way.
“The storm came and hit us hard on Saturday,” said Thomas Mattson, county public works director. He said his agency had been working around the clock to repair washed out roads that had left some residents stranded.
In Redwood Valley, off Highway 299, flooding from the Mad River damaged both major access roads on Saturday, leaving residents without access to outside help. The 113-mile river flows northwest through the county and rural unincorporated community. Road repairs were not expected to be completed until Wednesday evening.
Eureka newspaper the Times-Standard reported that at least 30 households were struggling with flooded homes and power outages amid dwindling supplies and no way to access help.
During an eight-hour stretch Saturday, 2 to 5 inches of rain fell across Humboldt County, according to Tyler Jewel, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Eureka office. The Whitethorn community recorded nearly 8 inches of rain.
“It's a very small watershed,” Jewel said. “This last storm dumped a ton of rain there. … It's really weird for that river to flood.”
Mattson said county public works crews had reopened 15 flooded roads since Saturday, but were still dealing with a half-dozen that suffered serious damage.
Ryan Derby, emergency services manager for the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, said “flooding has occurred throughout the county” over the past few days. The agency declared a state of local emergency on Tuesday to expedite emergency repairs and state and federal aid.
Derby said flooding from the Mad River affected Tyee City and other farmland in that area, along with parts of Mad River Road, or what is known locally as “Arcata Bottom.”
Small creeks and streams flowed into the Blue Lake area, not far from the Blue Lake Rancheria tribal land, about a 10-minute drive from Arcata.
Other flooding extended from Hoopa in the north to Shelter Cove in the southwestern corner of the county along the coast.
Some of the affected areas are “sparsely populated,” Derby said, and no evacuation orders were issued, although some residents fled during Saturday's storms. No deaths or injuries have been reported.
County officials are still assessing how much damage the rain has caused so far, Derby added, and will meet Thursday to discuss the situation and expected rain this weekend. Derby said the county is referring affected residents to the Red Cross at (800) 733-2767.
Derby said the storms caused damage to county roads and sewers, and with more rain expected to arrive on Friday, he is concerned additional flooding could interfere with recovery efforts.
“It's not expected to be that severe,” he said of the rain forecast. “But there could be compounding factors with the incoming storm that pose additional problems.”
Forecasts indicate 2 to 3 inches of rain are expected across Humboldt County, although the King Range in the southwest could receive up to 5 inches between Friday and Monday, with the first wave of rain arriving Friday through the morning to Saturday morning and the second from Saturday night to Monday afternoon.
Higher rainfall amounts of 4 to 6 inches were expected across Mendocino County south of Humboldt, and the Russian and Navarro rivers had the potential to flood, Jewel said.
