Yuba County Homeowners Forced To Travel By Boat In Floodwaters

YUBA COUNTY (CBS13) - More than a dozen homes near Marysville were swallowed by flood waters, forcing neighbors to travel by boat.

"I mean, look at it, this is an emergency," said Leon Ford who lives on Hammonton Smartsville Road.

In less than 48 hours, heavy rains turned this neighborhood into a lake.

"It came within four inches of getting in the front door and we have sandbagged and pumped for two days -- 24/7 for two days," he said.

Frustrated, soaked, and afraid of just how just how high the water would rise, Ford set up as many pumps as possible and prayed for the best.

"If it wasn't for all of these pumps, we would be in big trouble," he said.

The valley floor beneath his home collects the county runoff and it's backed up.

"It's just overfilled and it won't go anywhere. Everything bottlenecks to the county ditch and it won't relieve the pressure," he said.

The levee commissioner said they've made major improvements since the flood of '97.

"We can move massive amounts of water in ways we've never done before, which is overall good because in the early years many more homes be flooded at this point," said John Nicoletti.

But said there's no way of getting around homes built in every low lying area during storms like this.

Ford loves his home in the country, especially seeing the community rally to help them stay afloat.

"We spent more time running to the gas station to keep all of the pumps running and out of nowhere people just started flooding in here with gallons of fuel sitting there and it's been awesome," he said.

But he now believes it might be time to move to higher ground.