State of emergency
in Del Norte County |
by Nathan Rushton, 12/30/2005 |
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Although the rain-swollen Klamath River is
receding after several days of steady
rain, Del Norte County officials are
bracing for the next series of storms
expected to pummel the North Coast this
weekend.
Flooding on the river peaked early
Thursday morning, but the rising waters
caused some voluntary evacuations and
minor damage.
National Weather Service officials are
calling the mouth of the Klamath River
“ground zero” for the combination of high
tides and heavy runoff currently being
experienced along the North Coast.
At the town of Klamath, just a few miles
from the river’s entrance to the ocean,
the river crested at 40.42 feet — 6 feet
above flood stage — at midnight Wednesday,
according to the California Department of
Water Resources.
The last time the river significantly
flooded was in January 1997, when the
river rose to more than 45 feet following
a series of tropical storms that dumped
heavy and warm rain across the region,
which melted the snow pack, according to
National Weather Service data.
A state of emergency for Del Norte County
was declared Thursday due to flooding on
the Klamath River and several of its
tributaries, but officials said they are
in a “hurry up and wait” period in
anticipation of more rain expected to hit
the area tonight.
Allen Winogradov, emergency services
coordinator for the Del Norte County
Sheriff’s Office, said the declaration of
a local emergency resolution for the
county was passed Thursday during a
special session of the Board of
Supervisors.
Local infrastructure damage to roads and
sewer systems was the basis for the
declaration, with debris removal being the
biggest expected financial impact,
Winogradov said.
Although sections of highways 101 and 169
were temporarily closed Wednesday night,
county law enforcement officials are
continuing to monitor roads and are
expecting them to be closed again when
waters rise again Saturday.
A command post set up for local, county
and state law enforcement and emergency
services agencies is in place north of the
town of Klamath to coordinate flood relief
efforts, according to Lonnie Levi, the
fire chief for the Klamath Fire
Department.
With the help of the fire department,
approximately 25 families, along with
their mobile homes, were moved out of
low-lying areas along the river in
voluntary evacuations that were completed
prior to the peak flood Wednesday, Levi
said.
“There were some travel trailers that were
inundated and I am sure that some vehicles
that didn’t get moved had water in them,”
Levi said.
More than 1,200 people live in the town of
Klamath, but the majority of the town’s
residents were not affected by flooding,
according to officials.
Martin Kelly, public affairs officer of
the Del Norte Chapter of the Red Cross,
said the agency had provided motels in
Crescent City for two displaced Klamath
residents Wednesday.
The Red Cross is watching the weather
conditions and are ready to handle more
evacuees if needed, Kelly said.
“If the situation arises, we will be
opening a shelter,” which can accommodate
up to 100 people, Kelly said.
The Yurok, California’s largest Native
American tribe, has approximately 5,000
tribal members who live along the Yurok
Reservation’s lands that extend out one
mile on each side from the mouth of the
Klamath River upriver 44 miles.
The Yurok Tribe’s Public Relations office
reported that the conditions among the
tribe’s residents are improving following
the flood’s peak, but that the tribal
council was holding safety meetings and
preparing for more rain, as well as
working in collaboration with the Del
Norte County agencies.
“Right now the river is receding and
unless there is a great big change in the
weather it looks like we are out of the
woods today,” said Joe Galeoto, the Yurok
Tribe’s Chief of Public Safety. “After
that, we’ll have to see.”
Initial surveys of the flood area by Yurok
tribal officials determined that no homes
or permanent structures were significantly
affected by flood waters. |
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