Nevada County prepares for heavy rain after back-to-back snowstorms
NEVADA COUNTY -- Nevada County is now getting ready for heavy rain after back-to-back snowstorms. Thousands of people remained without power Monday night after being in the dark for nearly a week.
CBS13's weather team is expecting more than five inches of rain in Nevada County through Sunday. Nevada County emergency crews are working around the clock clearing roads and storm drains of snow and ice.
"I've been living there for over 40 years and we haven't had snow like this since 1989," resident Linda Kelleher said.
Kelleher is among the 6,500 people who have been without power for six days. PG&E announced Monday that it has 44 crews working around the clock to restore power to customers. That's after more than 15,000 people lost power last week.
As crews work tirelessly, they're now sharing some good news.
"We have restored mainline circuits across much of the county and we're now working to tap those circuits. So you're going to see restoration moves occur hour-by-hour over the next couple of days," said Brandon Sanders, a spokesperson for PG&E.
Restoration means Kelleher can return to a warm house. However, she worries for those who live downstream. This comes as emergency officials fear the combination of warmer rain – and a near-historic snowpack – could lead to flooding.
"It's going to be a problem down in the valley and I don't envy what's going to be happening there," Kelleher said.
Despite more than five inches of rain on top of the snowpack, emergency officials are not anticipating any widespread flooding in Nevada County.
As a precaution, they have four sandbag locations scattered throughout the county. You can find them at the Nevada County Warehouse on the corner of Highway 49 and East Broad Street in Nevada City, Penn Valley Fire Protection District located at 10513 Spenceville Road in Penn Valley, North San Juan Community Hall located at 10057 Reservoir Street in North San Juan and Higgins Fire Station 21 located at 10106 Combie Road.
