Guerneville, Forestville residents clean up after floodwaters receded
Sunday's mostly dry weather provided a brief window for Guerneville and Forestville residents to assess flooding damage and clean up.
"it was really, really, really messy," said Guerneville homeowner Crescencio Chavez.
Most of Chavez's front yard was underwater on Saturday. He said it was very fortunate the water did not get in the house.
"It was two feet (of water) here. But over there, it was probably around four to five feet," described Chavez as he pointed to various places in his yard that were flooded.
The water receded overnight, leaving behind mud, leaves, and other debris.
Crescencio and many other families spent Sunday power washing and removing trash.
"Not everybody's got a tractor, so I can do something that would take 10 people hours in just minutes," said Guerneville resident and handyman Liam Brayton.
Brayton drove his tractor around town to help people clear debris from their homes for free.
"Maybe if I do this, somebody else will jump in, chime in and go help," said Brayton.
A non-profit worker was also out in mobile home parks, passing out $100 gift cards to low-income families affected by the storm.
"I'm distributing gift cards to help with the immediate needs because folks that live in these areas, especially in the off-season in a resort town, their hours get cut at work and they don't make that much in the first place," said Jeniffer Wertz with the Russian River Alliance.
The storm not only flooded many low-lying areas, but authorities also believed it killed a man who tried to drive through the flooded Mays Canyon Road near Downtown Guerneville on Saturday morning. First responders removed the body from the submerged car.
In a separate incident in Santa Rosa, authorities pulled a body from Piner Creek also on Saturday morning. They were investigating how the man ended up in the creek.