New California gold rush sparked by historic rains

JAMESTOWN, Calif. - The historic, recording-breaking rains to hit the state this past winter and spring have led to exciting opportunities for modern day prospectors, hoping to strike it rich in what some are calling California Gold Rush 2.0. 

The massive rainfall and ensuing floodwaters have created ideal conditions for gold panners, making the precious metal easier to discover.

"When it rains that hard, that's when the new gold is moved into the creek and off of the mountains," explained longtime gold panner Nick Prebalick (also known as "Nugget Nick"), owner of "California Gold Panning" which operates out of historic Jamestown in Tuolumne County, one of the state’s original Gold Rush towns. 

Prebalick said in addition, the strong currents from the heavy rains have cleared out much of the debris in waterways, helping to better expose gold nuggets. 

"It also cleared all the sediment," Prebalick said. "You used to have to dig three more feet to get down to the bedrock where the gold is," which he explained, was the heaviest material that can be found settled at the bottom of rivers and creeks. "Cleared everything out, so it's really easy to get down where the gold is now," he said.

Prebalick, who offers tours and instruction on how to pan for gold, said it’s been a very productive season for finding the sought-after treasure. 

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"Between my groups and myself, over ten ounces already this year since January," he said, noting that every one of his groups has left with the discovery of some gold, which doesn’t always happen.

His wife Carole added, "Nothing to retire on, but it's something!" 

Word of an exceptional gold hunting season has brought out more people to Northern California's tributaries, creating potentially dangerous situations as the state’s record snowpack begins to melt leading to powerful and fast rapids gushing through waterways.

Last week, search teams in Calaveras County rescued a person reported missing while panning for gold along the North Fork section of the Mokelumne River in the West Point area.

Sheriff’s officials said, "At the time of the search, the river was experiencing a substantial flow due to the historic rain runoff and snow melt." They described the conditions as treacherous and said it required experienced teams from multiple agencies to carry out the rescue from "near-vertical slopes to the water's edge."

The person was located some 85 feet up a steep, loose slope directly over the river, sheriff’s deputies said. A helicopter unit spotted the missing subject. "There was no access to the subject's location from the Calaveras side of the river," deputies explained. So a swift-water team managed to access the person, roped the subject down the slope onto a raft and to safety.

The person was described to be extremely cold and suffering from non-life threatening injuries. 

The rescue prompted a strong warning from the sheriff’s office: "PLEASE DO NOT ENTER rivers and streams experiencing abnormally high flow rates, as they are EXTREMELY dangerous. Your lack of caution could cost you more than a cold night on the side of a cliff.  It could cost you your life."

Sheriff’s officials also offered a list of precautions to take, including advising people to "Stay out of the deep or fast-moving water," especially those who lacked strong swimming skills.

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Prebalick, who leads his gold panning groups out of Woods Creek said that the waters there have been calm. But he said up the hill, the enormous snowpack was leading to extremely strong currents into the rivers it fed. 

He advised inexperienced panners who want to try their hand at striking gold, to get a mining lesson to understand at least the basics of prospecting. 

And for those who hope to find their treasure and strike it rich? 

"Sure it happened once before in the 1800s," Prebalick said, while noting, the adventure in the search was also something valuable. "People came from different countries and different states. Most people did not strike it rich during the Gold Rush, but it did bring a lot of people to California. Give it a shot."

Prebalick said the summer months were typically when his business gets busy, but he’s already seeing a big influx of hopeful prospectors, with about five times more customers this year than last.

And it’s all thanks to Mother Nature’s doing this rainy season. 

"Gold miners," Prebalick joked, "are the only ones that love a flood."

This story was reported from Oakland, Calif.