California town trapped by flood waters after river overflows
Guerneville, Calif. — The body of a man who was swept away by a flood was found Thursday in northern California. Farther south, in Sonoma County, the Russian River flooded roads, leaving people trapped. Just after sunrise, people woke up to see one of the only roads out was still completely submerged in water.
By midday, the river had receded more than three feet, just enough to allow a few vehicles back into tiny Forestville that had been cut off for 36 hours. Now, emergency responders, fire Capt. Michael Franceschi among them, have to figure out if everyone is safe. He said they rescued 40 people on Wednesday.
There's no telling how bad the damage will be in the long river valley that runs through a dozen towns from California's wine country to the Pacific. At its worst, the Russian River flooded 13 feet above its banks, cresting at 45 feet.
Andre Rykoff chose not to evacuate. Neither did Sunshine Hunter and Annette Beltran.
Hunter said the hardest part has been feeling "trapped."
"Not having connection to the other side. No way to call. That's hard. And to let people know we are OK," she said.
For those who are OK, there is now a long process of cleaning up.
"It's just going to be a mess to clean up. Of course all the silt that accumulates on your stairs, everywhere around the side of your house, that all has to be pressure washed. It's going to be a significant amount of work," Rykoff said.
