Sonoma County Sheriff downgrades evacuation order for Russian River areas
The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said Friday morning that an evacuation order for low-lying areas on the Russian River prompted by stormy weather earlier this week has been downgraded to an evacuation warning.
The sheriff's office posted the update to its Facebook page Friday morning shortly before 10:30 a.m. The order covers the area from unincorporated Healdsburg at U.S. Highway 101 downstream to Jenner.
The new order means residents can return home, but should remain vigilant in case additional flooding occurs. The sheriff's office said the area will see more rain in the near future and conditions will change quickly because the soil is saturated.
In Forestville, Rio Vista Road is still closed at Westside Road due to a landslide that sent a home into the river. The home was unoccupied at the time, sheriff's officials said. Other roads near the river are still closed due to flooding or debris.
The sheriff's office asked people not to drive through flooded streets and continue to observe road closures and use alternate routes.
The recent storms are thought to be responsible for two deaths in Sonoma County, authorities said Thursday.
The sheriff's said in a Facebook post that the first incident was reported Wednesday at about 4:41 p.m. along the 7700 block of Franz Valley Road north of Santa Rosa and west of Calistoga.
Deputies found a man dead in a culvert and personnel from the Northern Sonoma County Fire District were sent to retrieve the body.
On Thursday morning, a second body was discovered along the 5800 block of Hall Road in unincorporated Santa Rosa just north of Sebastopol, the Sheriff's Office said. At about 7 a.m. Sonoma County Fire District personnel and the California National Guard assisted deputies in retrieving the body of a male victim.
To report a road obstruction, call the Sonoma County Transportation and Public Works Department at (707) 565-5100 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the Sheriff's Office at (707) 565-2121 after hours.
For more information, people can call 211 or visit https://socoemergency.org/emergency/warnings-and-updates/.
