Newsom asks Californians to remain vigilant for new storms

With stormy weather expected to increase in rainy California over the weekend and into next week, Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state and federal officials on Friday pleaded with residents to stay alert for possible more flooding and damage.

A series of storms have hit the state since late December, killing at least 19 people. On Friday, 6,000 people were ordered to evacuate and another 20,000 households were left without power, said Nancy Ward, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Management.

Homes were flooded, levees breached and closed, and landslides and gale-force winds hit parts of the state, including a tornado touchdown in Northern California, she said at a press briefing with Dina Criswell, a Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator who was in California to to tour the damage.

“People will calm down, but the soil is saturated. It’s extremely, extremely dangerous,” Ward said. “And that water can continue to rise even after the storms have died down.”

The ongoing atmospheric river regime brought downpours to Northern California early Friday, and additional bursts of moisture, even stronger, are expected to bring more rain and snow to other parts of the state in the coming days.

The drought-stricken state has averaged more than nine inches (23 centimeters) of rain a day over the past 18 days — a remarkable amount that some places are already receiving average annual rainfall, said David Lawrence, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Service.

Saturday’s storm will bring widespread heavy rain and heavy snowfall in the mountains – with wind gusts up to 60 mph (97 km/h) and the possibility of new trees falling and power outages, he said.

There were at least 19 storm-related deaths, half of them motorist-related, according to Sean Dury, acting commissioner of the California Highway Patrol, with some of the deaths could have been prevented if drivers had paid heed to road closure signs.

On Friday, Newsom visited the upscale Santa Barbara County community of Montecito, which was evacuated earlier this week, on the fifth anniversary of a landslide that killed 23 people and destroyed more than 100 homes in the coastal enclave.

He thanked the California National Guard for clearing debris from a catchment area built after a landslide to divert rain. He also asked residents to exercise caution and heed warnings from public security and law enforcement.

“I know how tired you all are,” Newsom said. “Just be a little more vigilant over the next weekend.”

President Joe Biden issued a state of emergency on Monday to support the hurricane response and relief efforts in more than a dozen counties, but Newsom is still waiting for the White House to issue a major disaster declaration that will provide more resources.

Flood warnings were in effect on the Salinas River in an agricultural valley about 90 miles south of San Francisco. At least 20,000 acres (8,094 ha) of farmland are at risk of flooding, according to the National Weather Service.

In parts of Northern California, cars were flooded, trees were uprooted, and roofs were blown off.

Authorities in Southern California determined that the hurricane’s sewage spill into the Ventura River was much larger than originally thought. Two Ojai Valley Sanitary District sewer lines damaged Jan. 9 spilled more than 14 million gallons, the Ventura County Department of Environmental Health said Thursday. There are warning signs along the river and beaches.

East of Los Angeles, Santa Anita Park canceled Saturday’s eight-race race early due to rain forecast. These races will be held as additional races over the next three days.

The damage assessment, which has already begun, is expected to exceed $1 billion.

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Austin reported from Mather, California. AP contributor John Antczak of Los Angeles.