Sonoma County flooding threatens homes, leads to water rescues

GUERNEVILLE, Calif. - Days’ worth of rainfall are overwhelming parts of the North Bay.

Mark West Creek spilled over its banks near Santa Rosa on Friday, taking over a roadway, and trapping two vehicles within an hour, leading firefighters to perform swift water rescues.

The driver and passenger of a Jeep Wrangler, a couple, had to be pulled from the quick moving waist-deep water.

"We had people that made a bad decision and drove around road closed signs," said Division Chief Cyndi Forman of the Sonoma County Fire District. "This water is moving really quickly. It only takes six inches to take a human right off their feet, and they could have been swept right down into the Russian River here."

The Jeep passenger told KTVU he and his girlfriend tried to push the SUV out of the water after the vehicle became stuck.

Downstream in Guerneville, the Russian River was already spilling over Friday night, forcing some residents of Redwood RV Park to pull their trailers out of what looked like a lake.

"I’m just praying that everyone stays safe," said Teresa Burns, who was trying her luck and staying put in her tight-knit community, despite the flood water being just three feet away from reaching her trailer Friday night. "We weren’t anticipating having to evacuate, but mother nature had other plans, and we decided to hunker down."

Just across the street, campgrounds along the river were underwater, swallowing up tanker truck, and a nearby semi-truck driver could be seen hauling a large tractor out of the flood water.

"You have this sensation all day of fight or flight.

Further downstream, as the water crept up on a home on stilts, we found a man who'd been through this before.

Chris lost nearly everything when flooding hit Guerneville in 2019.

This time he’s ready.

"I know the house is secure. I feel like now I can kind of feel relieved and just get through the storm but then we might have to turn around and do the whole thing again in a few weeks," said Chris. "It’s the cost of living in paradise."

The Russian River was expected to reach over thirty-four feet by Saturday morning, with a Flood Warning from the National Weather Service in effect until Sunday morning.