North Bay dealing with storm-related issues but many relieved by lack of rain, wind
The North Bay was one of the first areas to get hit by the storm that rolled in Wednesday.
Many were expecting this system to pack a punch with some forecasts predicting roughly 6 inches of rain and wind gusts of 50 miles per hour. Many have been pleasantly surprised by the lack of wind and rain so far.
As the rain soaked the North Bay, Bryan Humphrey from Santa Rosa was busy filling up sandbags.
"It was not easy. I had heart surgery before so I shouldn't be doing this kind of stuff," Humphrey said.
He filled ten bags for himself and his neighbors to make sure the alley to their homes is drivable.
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"The city doesn't maintain it so I fill the potholes with it," Humphrey said.
There weren't too many flooded streets, but some drivers were able to make it through about 3 feet of water on Mark West Station Road.
CHP officers were kept busy with numerous accidents. An elderly driver drove off the road twice in a span of roughly half an hour.
The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for low-lying areas. Laguna de Santa Rosa commonly floods during severe storms. It flowed fairly swiftly but water levels stayed low.
To prepare for this storm, several Sonoma County fire agencies pulled their resources together to staff additional engines and deploy three swift water rescue teams. They relied on the same technology they use to gauge fire danger to see how potent this storm would be.
"We truly are looking at things differently, trying to use technology to our advantage which then better helps us better respond for whatever incident we need to go to whatever time of year," Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal with the Santa Rosa Fire Department said.
While this wave of rain didn't quite deliver the totals some expected, this storm is not over yet and another is expected at the end of the weekend. Humphrey hopes he has enough sandbags to get through this week.
