A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
January 4, 2008
2. Supply
WINTER STORM:
Storms bear down on California, could trigger slides, flooding - Associated Press
Crews brace for huge storm; Wind forecasts are staggering; utility workers, emergency personnel are ready - Sacramento Bee
Storms put region's safety crews on alert for floods, mudslides - LA Daily News
Third major storm now looming for weekend; ROAD CLOSURES LIKELY; OFFICIALS RECOMMEND STOCKING WATER, FOOD - San Jose Mercury News
Valley bracing for storms; Up to 10 feet of Sierra snowfall, hurricane-force winds possible - Marysville Appeal Democrat
WATER CONSERVATION PLANNING:
River Islands sets high bar for water conservation - Manteca Bulletin
WINTER STORM:
Storms bear down on
Associated Press – 1/4/07
By Samantha Young, staff writer
SACRAMENTO—A fierce arctic storm lashed California Friday, toppling trees, knocking out power and soaking a coastal landscape already charred by wildfires.
Sheets of rain and whipping wind slowed drivers in their morning commute, as forecasters predicted the harsh conditions to continue throughout the weekend.
In Northern California, heavy snow dropped on the
In
"We're watching it really blossom on satellite," National Weather Service forecaster Andrew Rorke said.
The storm was expected to pound
"The last rain we had, it all went under my foundation and I don't like that. It was flowing under my house," said Cindy Darling, a receptionist at the Lake Arrowhead Chamber of Commerce who got sandbags from the local fire department to put above her house. "Everything up here's on a hill, so you have to do something."
Ocean tides were expected to swell to 30 feet, prompting the U.S. Coast Guard to caution boaters to remain in port.
The U.S. Forest Service issued an avalanche warning for Mount Shasta, in the Cascade Range in far
"If you don't have to go out this weekend, it might be a nice weekend to stay at home after the holidays," said Frank McCarton, chief deputy director of the California Office of Emergency Services.
The state plans to activate its emergency operations centers in Los Alamitos and
In Truckee, north of
The weather service was forecasting snow levels dropping to 4,000 feet along the western Sierra, with 10 feet of snow possible at elevations above 6,500 feet.
The forecasts failed to deter one group from attempting to ski all
"They are not putting it on hold," said Julia Vitarello, spokeswoman for the group Across the Atlas. "The idea is to work through it and make it work."
Wind gusts forced some Tahoe-area ski resorts to shut down some or all of their ski lifts on Thursday, and gusts in some areas were expected to top 100 mph Friday and Saturday.
"We'll operate as much of the resort as we're able to," said Russ Pecoraro, spokesman for Heavenly Mountain Resort in
Power outages, damaged electrical lines and downed trees were reported Friday morning.
A spokeswoman for Pacific Gas and Electric says more than 40,000 customers from
About 105,000 customers were without power from the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, said spokesman Robert Tokunaga.
Residents in low-lying areas of the
The rain is not expected to overwhelm the state's major rivers, in part because upstream reservoirs are at low levels after last year's dry winter and spring, said Don Strickland, a spokesman for the California Department of Water Resources.
The heaviest precipitation—and possibly the most rain Southern California has seen in three years—was expected Friday night and Saturday. Some south-facing slopes could get downpours totaling 15 inches, including some areas particularly prone to mudslides after wildfires. #
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_7879019
Crews brace for huge storm; Wind forecasts are staggering; utility workers, emergency personnel are ready
Sacramento
By Dorothy Korber, Kim Minugh and Bobby Caina Calvan, staff writers
This morning's commute is likely to be a nightmare.
"If you don't have to go to work, you shouldn't," advised Robert Baruffaldi, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in
Friday's wind forecasts are staggering: gusts up to 65 mph in
"They're just going to be buried up there," Baruffaldi said. He expects blizzard conditions, rare in
In
"Flashlights, gloves, batteries, we're all out of them," said Cheryl Korson in exasperation. "We're going through shovels, lamps, oil lamps."
Kathie Antrim, a visitor from
On Interstate 80 above Colfax Thursday afternoon, it was clear the direction to be going was down, as a steady stream of cars and trucks headed west. Only a handful of road warriors were heading upward toward a great gray horizon.
At Nyack, a popular stop for travelers, Sacramentan Jerry Kohl, 47, and his two sons were undeterred by the forecast. Their destination was Soda Springs. Kohl and the boys – Jacob, 12, and Jason, 9 – were focused on skiing rather than the looming storm.
"We're one of the crazies, I guess," Kohl said.
In anticipation of the bruising weather, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services planned to activate a statewide operations center in
"Californians in at-risk areas should take every precaution – prepare for the weather, review your emergency plans, monitor the latest weather reports and listen for any warnings or instructions from local officials," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said.
Across the
"Our crews are ready; they're into high gear. Vacations have been canceled and we have mandatory overtime," said Jennifer Ramp, a spokeswoman for Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
By Thursday night, some power outages, downed power lines and downed trees had been reported.
Nearly 2,000 PG&E customers to the north and east of
Crews, taking advantage of a lull between storms, were working to restore power.
Earlier in the day, as many as 7,000 customers in
In
But the worst was coming, Ramp said. She spoke from PG&E's regional center in
"We've been told that this is going to be a very severe storm. Sometimes a storm has a lot of precipitation, sometimes a lot of wind. This storm is going to be packing both," she said.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District has a full complement of crews to respond to outages, said spokesman Chris Capra. The 10 line crews and five tree-trimming crews could be joined by as many as 30 contractors and six other line crews on call.
During a power outage, SMUD suggests that residents switch on their porch lights but switch off all other lights to prevent a power surge when power is restored. The porch light will tell crews that power has been restored at a particular house.
Residents are being urged to keep emergency supplies handy, including a flashlight with fresh batteries, bottled water, canned food, a manual can opener, battery-operated radio and a fully charged cell phone.
In Elk Grove, firefighters with the Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department were checking equipment Thursday and preparing to coordinate any needed emergency response. Bob Lee, assistant to the director of public works, said Elk Grove plans to have eight to 12 people working 12-hour shifts to handle storm-related problems through the weekend.
"When you get rain like this, and it dampens the ground, and then you have these high winds, you have tree and limb problems," Lee said. "We've sharpened all of our power saws."
Lee urged residents to help by clearing leaves and other debris that may have gathered near street inlets before the heaviest rain arrives.
Inmate crews at Cal Fire are getting ready to fill sandbags and dart out to plug any breaks in the region's extensive system of levees, said agency spokesman Daniel Berlant.
A swift-water rescue team has been placed on alert in
"This time of year, we have lots of reports about vehicles trying to go through roadways that have been flooded," Berlant said. "The water might look still, and they might think it's only a foot. But when they can't see the bottom, you never really know how swift it's moving under the surface."
The Army Corps of Engineers also is monitoring the storm, said spokesman David Killam. "You've got a lot of good people standing by and ready to do whatever needs to be done," Killam said. "But a lot of this stuff you can't predict." #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/609283.html
Storms put region's safety crews on alert for floods, mudslides
LA Daily News – 1/4/08
By Dana Bartholomew and Harrison Sheppard, staff writers
After nearly three years of stormy expectations but little real rain, Californians braced Thursday for a weekend of heavy downpours, mountain snow and whipping high winds.
Three storm fronts barreling down the coast could also trigger mudslides on hills scorched by recent wildfires.
The brunt of the rain was expected to fall today through Saturday, bringing up to 6 inches of rain to low-lying
"I think this one might be the real deal," said Bill Patzert, climatologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Ca ada Flintridge.
"It means this will be the heaviest four days of rain that we've had in ... years."
Because the Southland has experienced so little rain, a good downpour will be dramatic even if the region doesn't get any flooding or mudslides, Patzert said.
Throughout
Across the state, public safety crews went on alert as officials set up emergency operations centers and water rescue teams were deployed to flash-flood areas.
Of particular concern were flash floods and mudslides in fire-damaged canyons from
In
Others said that, in the event of a large slide or flood, sandbags will do little to deter a wall of mud or rock roaring at 20 feet per second.
"There is a significant hazard here," said Susan Cannon, a landslide expert with the U.S. Geological Survey, during a news conference in
"These are debris flows that will kill you, without a doubt. They won't just damage your car or make you stuck in the mud; they'll kill you."
Cannon was among a half-dozen officials from the USGS and the National Weather Service to tout a mudslide and flood warning system developed three years ago that includes radar and thousands of rain gauges.
If more than half an inch of rain falls in an hour, the Weather Service will issue flood warnings on its Web site, www.wrh.noaa.gov/lox, or the emergency broadcasting system.
Forecasters predicted an inch of rain Thursday night, up to 4 inches today and Saturday and an inch or less on Sunday. Wind gusts could range between 20 mph and 40 mph on the flats and up to 80 mph in the mountains.
Snow could fall as low as 3,500 feet.
If predictions bear out, it could be the heaviest soaker since nearly 9 inches that fell in one week in February 2005. A month earlier, winter downpours precipitated a massive mudslide in La Conchita that killed 10 people and buried as many homes.
In that 2004-05 season, storms dropped 37.25 inches of rain in downtown
"The big concern is we have 20 burn areas we're monitoring and this much rain could get things moving," said Eric Boldt, warning coordinator for the National Weather Service in
In
Meanwhile, city and county fire stations doled out sandbags to needy residents, though not all of them came with sand.
In the Sierra regions of
In the
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said state emergency crews have been placed on high alert. Officials also warned residents in high-risk areas to prepare emergency plans; update first-aid kits, radios and flashlights; and to store at least three days of food.
"Californians in at-risk areas should take every precaution," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
"Prepare for the weather, review your emergency plans, monitor the latest weather reports and listen for any warnings or instructions from local officials."
Following the driest year on record for
Only they said to expect fewer of them. Since July,
"La Ni a lives," Patzert said, "so the dice are loaded for underperformance of these storms. The M.O. in the last three years: much promised, little delivered." #
http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_7876622?IADID=Search-www.dailynews.com-www.dailynews.com
Third major storm now looming for weekend; ROAD CLOSURES LIKELY; OFFICIALS RECOMMEND STOCKING WATER, FOOD
By Brandon Bailey and Julie Sevrens Lyons , staff writers
Even before Californians could dry themselves off from the year's first major storm, a second front was expected to sweep the state Friday, bringing the prospect of blizzards in the Sierra, mudslides in Southern California and potential power outages, road closures and other headaches to the Bay Area.
As rain moved into the region today, local residents and emergency workers braced for a one-two punch. Caltrans crews planned to work around the clock. Disaster officials were activating command centers. And
"People need to be prepared," said Frank McCarton, chief deputy director of the state Office of Emergency Services, advising those in vulnerable areas to stay home this weekend and stock a 72-hour supply of food and water.
The first storm in the series brought more than an inch of rain to
Scattered power outages were reported throughout the Bay Area, said Pacific Gas & Electric spokesman Brian Swanson, who predicted the outages would spread overnight.
Behind the first front, an even stronger storm was developing off the coast and expected to hit today. A third is expected over the weekend.
"We definitely expect to see more outages. Our whole company is on stand-by," Swanson said.
So were many residents of the
"A lot of people up here are usually pretty prepared for these events," said Chief Kevin McClish of the Boulder Creek Fire Department. "They have all the basic supplies they need to keep them going for a couple days."
With the kind of storms predicted, he added, "we'll usually end up with several roads closed, trees down, power lines down."
State officials said they were monitoring levees and rivers, but they were particularly concerned about
FEMA officials said they alerted logistical teams to prepare Moffett Field in
The Coast Guard, meanwhile, advised Bay Area boaters to stay in port, and the National Weather
Service issued a rare blizzard warning for the Sierra, with winds expected to reach speeds over 100 mph.
More than 10 feet of snow is expected around the
"Do not attempt to travel across the Sierra passes," the weather service warned. "Attempting to travel in the Sierra will put your life at risk."
Caltrans also warned that highway closures are very likely through the weekend and that travelers should expect major delays.
"The forecast is calling for very, very high winds and high amounts of snow. When you combine those two together, you have white-out conditions," said spokeswoman Shelly Chernicki.
Anyone who attempts to make the trek to ski areas should bring along plenty of sleeping bags, water and food, officials said.
Chains will be a must, as well as maps, said Jeff Gartner, a spokesman for the South Lake Tahoe CHP. With the severe weather expected in the mountains this weekend, GPS systems likely won't be functional.
But as far as state water officials are concerned, the storm couldn't come soon enough.
Officials got a bit of sobering news Thursday when they measured the level of the existing snowpack, one of the most accurate gauges of the state's water supply. It was low, with the water content resting at about 60 percent of normal for this time of year.
Many of the state's reservoirs are extremely low, and one of the big ones,
Still, state water experts said they aren't nervous. Snow is expected at elevations below 4,000 feet this weekend. And more is forecast for next week.
"We're optimistic that in about a week, that 60 percent measurement will be much closer to 100 percent - if not above average," said Elissa Lynn, a senior meteorologist with the California Department of Water Resources. "That wouldn't be enough snow for the whole year, but it would get us back on track."
If the storm was welcomed in the mountains, it threatened to make things even more uncomfortable for urban homeless.
InnVision, one of the largest emergency housing operators in
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_7873495?source=most_emailed
Valley bracing for storms; Up to 10 feet of Sierra snowfall, hurricane-force winds possible
Marysville Appeal Democrat – 1/4/08
By Appeal-Democrat staff and wire service reports
The first rainfall in what is expected to be a series of storms to hit the Mid-Valley this weekend started falling Thursday while local emergency officials geared up for the possibility of flooding and high winds.
However, officials said there is no current flood threat from the area's rivers.
Major rivers in Yuba-Sutter, including the Feather and Yuba, were not expected to flood because reservoirs are too low.
Also, the systems are colder storms that would dump plenty of much-needed snow in the foothills.
"The lakes are down just too low; even if it melted all the snow, I doubt it would fill the lakes up," said Levee District 1 General Manager Bill Hampton.
"We will see some rise, but the levels are so low there is more a concern over internal flooding," said Aaron Ward,
"If we get through (Friday), we will get through the weekend."
The unofficial rainfall total in Marysville for the 24-hour period ending at 5 p.m. Thursday was .07 of an inch. That brought the seasonal total since July 1 to 5.29 inches, well below the 8.15 inches that normally falls through Jan. 3.
While officials were confident there is no threat from rivers, small stream and localized flooding are concerns.
Additional locations to pick up sand and sandbags may be added if there is a need. Questions regarding sand and sandbags can be obtained by contacting the Yuba City Public Works Department at 822-4626 during business hours and at 822-4661 after hours and over the weekend.
Janice Bell,
Meanwhile, Rain, wind and snow began hitting
The first in a trio of storms began with rain along the Northern California coast, and snow was falling in the
But the heaviest precipitation - and possibly the most rain
Forecasters issued a rare blizzard warning for the Sierras, with up to 10 feet of snow expected in some areas above the 6,500-foot level, and predicted 30-foot coastal swells by Saturday.
Winds of 75 mph to 80 mph could hit the
"If you're not in the Sierras by this evening, don't go. It's a life-and-death situation," said Ken Clark, a senior meteorologist at Accuweather.com. "It's going to be an all-out blizzard."
In
"You're going to have roads getting flooded, you're going to have water channels filling up. But in the burned areas, this could be disastrous," said
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that officials will activate state emergency operations centers in Los Alamitos and
Lowland areas around
Some south-facing slopes could get downpours totaling 15 inches, including some areas particularly prone to mudslides after fires,
In the
The storm was expected to dump between three to five inches of rain, which could overwhelm roadways, streams and creeks, said Robert Baruffaldi, senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in
"If people don't have to commute they probably are much better to stay home," Baruffaldi said.
By Thursday afternoon, blustery winds had already forced some Sierra ski resorts to shut down lifts. At Alpine Meadows, four of 13 lifts were closed, said spokeswoman Rachel Woods.
Nevertheless, ski resort operators welcomed the storm.
"This kind of snow is not only great for skiing, but also ensures we're going to have enough snow for the rest of the season," said Woods.
In Southern California, wind gusts between 60 mph and 80 mph in the mountains and 20 mph to 40 mph in the lowlands were expected along with rain,
In the canyons in Orange County, where a 28,000-acre fire burned 15 homes just months ago, winding roads were periodically blocked Thursday with work crews who cleared debris from culverts, stacked hay bales and gravel-filled bags and installed concrete barriers and plastic tarps at the base of hillsides.
The U.S. Forest Service used airplanes and a helicopter to spread "hydro-mulch" - a mixture of wood pulp and a gluey substance - on about 18 percent of the area burned in the Santiago Fire to keep soil in place, said spokesman Tom Lavagnino.
Canyon resident Steve Enochs, 52, said he put 80 hay bales around his backyard to keep water away from his home, which sits directly beneath a towering canyon wall that burned last fall.
"I'm worried. See that hill up there? This whole canyon's burned and there's a huge watershed up this canyon that's all burned too," he said. "It's a pretty dangerous threat."
Neighbor Bill LaBar, 45, seemed less concerned, but had still piled 1,600 sand bags and 20 hay bales around his property. He packed up a motorhome so his wife and dog could evacuate in case of flooding, but LaBar said he planned to stay.
"You take it with a grain of salt," he said. "My house has been here since 1928. Lots of stuff has happened since 1928 and it's still here, so the odds are in our favor, one way or another."
In
The storms headed toward
Rain levels in downtown
The storms also were potentially good news for the state's water supply, much of which comes from the Sierra snowpack. Snow levels along the 400-mile-long range were 60 percent of normal, according to the first of the state's annual snow surveys released Thursday. #
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/rain_58559___article.html/snow_thursday.html
WATER CONSERVATION PLANNING:
By Dennis Wyatt, Managing Editor
LATHROP - The first significant rain of the season was pelting the
It was the precursor to what the National Weather Service is predicting will end up as the valley's biggest potential drenching in 10 years.
Inside the
It's not about how snug the planned community of 11,000 homes will be inside the confines of 300-foot-wide super levees considered so bullet-roof that they should withstand anything Mother Nature can toss at it short of a repeat of weather reminiscent of the era of Noah's
Dell'Osso, the project manager for Cambay Group which has invested more than $130 million to date into the 10-square-mile-plus project without building a single home, is worried about the lack of water.
That is why design standards adopted for all property within
"It's a crime to watch automatic sprinkler systems come on during a day like this," Dell'Osso said Thursday as skies darkened over Lathrop.
Being green makes green for builders
Dell'Osso sees water as a resource that
Cambay Group also knows how expensive it is to develop and secure water sources. They wrote the biggest private sector check - more than $10 million - towards Lathrop's share of the $125 million South County Water Treatment Plant tab.
Dell'Osso also knows first hand how much pumping water from rapidly depleting underground sources can cost. Her husband Ron's farm operation in one month alone required paying PG&E $25,000. And that was simply to power irrigation pumps to take water from the river and not lift it more than 150 feet up from below the surface.
"It's just not good (stewardship)," Dell'Osso said. "It's good business."
Welcome to
The project that local leadership of the Sierra Club once demonized as the worst development ever to surface in San Joaquin County is looking more and more like something that the organization John Muir founded after being inspired by his beloved Yosemite to protect Mother Nature's jewels from being destroyed by "progress" would create.
Keeping water clean that goes back to river
The rain coming down on
That way the accumulative muck picked up by run-off and sent down the drain will filter out as the rainwater seeps through the sandy loam and makes its way to the large underground aquifer that mirrors much of the river.
It's the way nature intended it. And, thanks to the scale of the 11,000-home project that allowed the planning of large lakes to accomplish just that purpose, it is also more cost-effective than man-made treatment systems for run-off.
Plans are in place to use solar panels wherever possible to reduce reliance of off-site electricity.
While housing guidelines for builders strongly recommends solar tiles on roofs - Dell'Osso doesn't believe the general housing market is ready for traditional and more efficient and longer lasting solar panels that are boxier looking and don't integrate into the roofline - solar is mandatory elsewhere.
You will see solar panels as part of public buildings. They will be atop road signs with flashing lights and even in some instances such as lights that may also require a back-up traditional electrical system.
The Lathrop Irrigation District - essentially created for
Residents will be able to go on-line and monitor real time water consumption as well as real-time power consumption.
"It's difficult to encourage water conservation after the fact when you get a bill," said Dell'Osso. "This way homeowners can go on-line and see if they are spiking water use unnecessarily so they can control the size of their water bill."
Restoring river habitat as well
The Lathrop Irrigation District will also have a program like the South San Joaquin Irrigation District's Simply Green energy conservation effort. That program regulates air conditioning temperatures at a specific setting when power usage becomes critical. In return, homeowners have a way of keeping their homes comfortable while reducing their power costs.
And a resident returning home from the Bay Area on a chilly January night will be able to remotely turn on their heat as they cross the
"They (housing) will have that capability whether people are living in a home, a condo or an apartment," Dell'Osso said.
It is all made possible by the wiring backbone for each home built in
There are only a handful of legal access points to the
The Cambay Group project will add nearly 30 public access points - including two boat launches - on the perimeter of Stewart Tract. And they won't be the typical access either.
Creating unparalleled
Dell'Osso noted the intent is to give the public access to the river regardless of whether they live in
To walk along the river's edge for an extended stretch you have to basically trespass,
When completed, it will provide the most extensive - and unique - river access on the entire
The river parks will vary in design depending upon whether they are located in
The one planned closest to the town center just west of the Mossdale bend in the
All of the parks will be out of the flood plain since restrooms and other improvements will be made. There will be no access to the riverside of the levees. But instead of simple, barren dirt either natural vegetation will be restored or trees and other improvements will be made.
The view from the parks will be pretty impressive as well. On the north side and west side of Stewart Tract, you will be able to see sunsets over Mt. Diablo, sunrises over the Sierra and expanses of farmland on islands directly to the north that are out of the development zone and protected from development.
The
http://mantecabulletin.com/main.asp?FromHome=1&TypeID=1&ArticleID=55706&SectionID=28&SubSectionID=58
####
No comments:
Post a Comment