Some Bay Area Cities Offer Sandbags For Weekend Storm
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Rainy weather is expected to continue in the Bay Area this weekend with the heaviest rain coming on Saturday, and local officials are urging residents to take precautions.
The North Bay should expect the heaviest rains in the morning Saturday while most of the rest of the area will get the heaviest rains Saturday afternoon, National Weather Service forecaster Diana Henderson said.
The most rainfall will come in the higher elevations, she said.
Monday things will be drying out, but more rain may be coming as soon as Wednesday, Henderson said.
Bay Area communities are hunkering down for some of the first heavy rains in what has so far been an unusually dry winter.
Oakland, which even canceled the bulk of its monthly First Friday festivities Friday evening, will be offering free sandbags and plastic sheeting to avoid drainage issues, city officials said.
The sandbags and sheeting are provided through the city's public works department. Up to 20 sandbags and 50 feet of sheeting per resident is available for pickup at the Municipal Service Center at 7101 Edgewater Drive and the Public Works Drainage Division facility at 5921 Shepherd Canyon Road.
Up to five sandbags can be picked up at select fire stations throughout the city, city officials said. Proof of residency is required.
Oakland officials are also asking residents to pitch in by checking and cleaning gutters and downspouts, keeping curbs and gutters free of leaves and debris, and keeping creeks and ditches free from obstruction.
Contra Costa County is also offering sandbags to certain areas. Residents with transportation and a shovel can pick them up at the West County Detention Facility at 5555 Giant Highway in Richmond, the Ambrose Park and Recreation Center at 3105 Willow Pass Road in Bay Point, the county fairgrounds at 1201 W. 10th St. in Antioch, the Byron Airport at 500 Eagle Curt in Byron and in Pacheco on Waterbird Way across from the county gas pumps, county officials said.
On the Peninsula, East Palo Alto has also established a public sandbag station at 2277 University Ave.
The city and the Menlo Park Fire Protection District have also been cleaning storm drains and streets in preparation for this week's storms, East Palo Alto officials said.
LIST OF ADDITIONAL SANDBAG LOCATIONS (Will be updated as new information becomes available):
ALAMEDA COUNTY: Click here for official information
SAN MATEO COUNTY: Sandbags will be available at 752 Chestnut Street in Redwood City. The bags will be at driveway entrance on Spring Street, about 300 feet from intersection. Official information.
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