Western Storms Cause Flooding, Blackouts

Levee Break Strands Thousands In Nev.; More Heavy Rains, Winds, Snow Expected From Calif. To Colo.

(CBS/AP)  A canal levee ruptured early Saturday after heavy rainfall, pouring more than 3 feet of near-freezing water into about 800 homes and stranding about 3,500 people in their agricultural desert town, authorities said.

The break might have been started by burrowing rodents, an official said.

A 30-foot-long section of the Truckee Canal broke around 4 a.m. in Fernley, about 33 miles east of Reno, officials said. No injuries were reported.

Truckee River water flowing into the canal was diverted upstream and water in the canal was receding, said Ernie Schank, president of the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District.

Ten school buses were used to carry residents to shelters at schools, and bulldozers were brought in to shore up the levee, Allen said.

The nearby Fallon Naval Air Station provided two helicopters and by midmorning had rescued 18 people.

"Some folks were standing in their driveways and some were on top of their buildings," said Zip Upham, a spokesman for the Navy training facility.

The break came as a storm pummeled the West Coast, raising a threat of mud slides and flooding in California, blacking out thousands of customers and blanketing the Sierra Nevada range with deep snow.

However, Schank said the break may have started with rodent burrowing that weakened the canal's earthen bank.

"Evidently it was a rat or a gopher hole. The canal did not overtop the bank," he said.

The irrigation district has a bounty on gophers, said Kate Rutan, an administrative assistant at the district office. "Gophers are terrible for making a hole ... and once (water) finds a weak spot, it will go for it," she said.

The Fernley area had gotten snow plus heavy rain on Friday.

"It was a mess up there last night," said Chuck Allen of the Nevada Department of Public Safety. "It's so cold here. The snow is about 2 inches in depth and the temperatures are right near the frigid mark both for the rescuers and rescuees."

Widespread Damage Across West Coast

Gale-force winds, heavy rains and a thick blanket of snow for the Sierra Nevada are forecast on Saturday.

Up to 44 inches of snow had fallen in some parts of the Sierra Nevada, the National Weather Service said Saturday morning. Forecasters expected the storm to dump as much as 10 feet at higher elevations of the mountain range by Sunday.

The snow storm that hammered the Sierras will begin hitting Colorado's mountains today. Although some of the precipitation has been wrung from the storm in California, several feet of snow are possible this weekend in the Rockies.

Flights were grounded Friday and trucks overturned in Northern California as wind gusted to 80 mph during the second wave of the arctic storm that has sent trees crashing onto houses, cars and roads. Hundreds of thousands of customers lost power from central California into Oregon and Washington.

In the south, residents of Orange County canyons that were stripped by wildfires last fall - making them susceptible to mudslides - nervously watched weather reports to learn when they might be hit by the fierce wind and heavy downpours forecast for the area.

"There's a little bit of a letup right now in the rain, but there's still a huge band of rain that's going to come in today," Ted MacKechnie, a National Weather Service forecaster, said Saturday morning.

About 3,000 people in four canyons had been told to leave their homes by 7 p.m. Friday, Orange County fire Capt. Mike Blawn said.

"We don't take these evacuation orders lightly. We do everything we can to make sure they're necessary," Blawn said. "The thing with debris flows, mudslides and flash floods is that you can't see them coming."

However, there was no indication how many obeyed. "We have been hearing that very small percentage of them actually evacuated," Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion said.

Flash flood warnings were in effect Saturday for broad swaths of Southern California, including most of Los Angeles County and southeastern Santa Barbara County.

Homeowners in Southern California and the Central Valley stacked sandbags and hay bales around their homes to keep out floods. A voluntary evacuation was in effect at an apartment complex northwest of downtown Los Angeles because of flooding and a small mudslide.

In the Sierra Nevada, where a winter storm warning was in effect, the California Department of Transportation said Interstate 80, the main east-west link between Northern California and Nevada, remained closed Saturday. The Red Cross set up a 200-bed shelter in Truckee for stranded motorists, as well as a shelter in Butte County.

"It's going to be a mess for travelers," said Chris Smallcomb, a weather service meteorologist. "We expect the road conditions will be hazardous if not impossible."

Winter storm warnings also were issued for mountain areas in Colorado, where forecasters said several feet of snow is possible this weekend.

In the Sierra National Forest, three missing members of a Clovis family were found in good condition just after nightfall Friday, ending a daylong search, when rescuers found them with three other hikers who had apparently gotten trapped by the snowfall.

The state opened its emergency operations center Friday to coordinate storm response, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he had spoken with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff by phone.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection dispatched inmate crews in Northern California to clear debris from roads, spokesman Daniel Berlant said. Swift-water rescue teams were on standby in several counties in case of flash floods.

Travelers' flight plans were put on hold Friday when airlines delayed or canceled flights in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area. The wind also overturned trucks on interstate highways in Northern California.

About 440,000 homes and businesses from the Bay Area to the Central Valley were in the dark early Saturday, down from about 1.5 million the day before. It could be days before all the lights are back on, Pacific Gas & Electric officials said.

The huge storm also toppled trees and cut power to thousands of customers in Washington and Oregon.

"A huge tree, over 100 years old, just fell across the house. It just wrecked the whole thing," Faye Reed said of her daughter Teenia's damaged home north of Sacramento. "They won't be able to live in it. The whole ceiling fell in, and now it's raining inside."

[usayesterday]

Forget the lack of TV, forget the lack of internet or whatever kind of electronic entertainment we fill our lives with...

...at this time of year, when it can get as cold as hell, the lack of power can not only be a burden, but very dangerous for some!

I live in Red Bluff, CA, and thankfully, my power was only out for about 6 hours. My home got down to 56 degrees, but very manageable with a coat and a sweater!

For those who are still suffering without power and in this cold weather... my sympathies go out to you!

[matter77]

An earthquake of significant intensity will strike somewhere along the west coast of the US, in the next couple months. At least by then, the cold will have subsided for many.

[Con Mohrat]

Will Daffy the Lame Duck fly over the West to observe, as he did with Katrina?

We will then be able to say "Heckava job Bushie."

[david1737]

"Forecasters expected the storm to dump as much as 10 feet at higher elevations of the mountain range by Sunday."

Climate change!

[mythoughtsr]

Global warming at its finest ROFL. Sounds like a typical winter storm to me.

I''m LMAO at the person predicting the major earthquake. I''m predicting a recession for this year with falling housing prices and increased debt for everyone but the government (Congress, Senators etc etc) LOL

[jetranger7]

This is why I have a well built fireplace with an Insert and a 2-speed blower, and a 1908 Wood burning potbelly stove called a "REDOAK", Google that and search for Red Oak antique wood burning stoves,, or go to E-Bay and look at what their selling for !!!!! I always keep 3 cords of wood around spilt and stacked in a little shed to keep it dry, just in case of a Storm, and I can keep my house anywhere from 70* to 85* degrees in the worst weather !!! So if everybody would leave the playstations and the X-Boxes alone and spend that money on things more usefull, they could survive most of these storms for a few weeks without power if they had to. Also, I have 2 Bar-B Q stoves I use in case of no-power to cook on too !!! Always good to be prepared just in case, its not that expensive to do, compared to wasting money on silly games and toys !

[michellem99-2009]

Jet I know about them potbelly stvoes. I saw them growing up in Maine. They heat the place. Yer be sure the air is safe as they need to crack a window. We lived in a place where yer used propane and yer have to crack a window an inch. We live in an apt. Have a lot of blankets. Yer can use newspaper to start the stove going. We are not allowed to that in apt. They can cook on the potbelly. Them cast iron cook ware.

[michellem99-2009]

The Franlin one. I have not seen one years.

[rushlimpdrug]

Global warming at its finest ROFL. Sounds like a typical winter storm to me.. . . LOL
Posted by Mythoughtsr at 03:07 PM

Kooool, global warming is over.
Others that are compassionate conservs will join you in your laughing at these Americans predicament.
Laugh it up and enjoy.