Truckee Cleans Up After Flooding And Mudslides Spread Damage

TRUCKEE (CBS 13) – After a weekend of rain, flooding and mudslides people in Truckee started the cleanup process on Monday.

"I gotta get it out and just prepare for some more snow coming later this week," said Jens Scheyder, while shoveling snow out of his driveway.

Cars rolled slowly on slushy ground while neighbors like Fernando Santos surveyed the damage from the storm.

"I've been living here for 8 years and this is the first time I see this," he said.

On Sunday night, he dug ditches outside of his home hoping to keep the water from getting inside. But he couldn't stop it from washing away dirt and exposing his main gas line.

"I don't know, it's dangerous to be exposed to gas right there," he said.

It happened after water rushed between houses on Sunday afternoon. Heavy rain warmed the snow and pushed everything down the hill.

"It was coming through the gates so strong we couldn't even stand in it," said John Booth, outside of his Donner Pass Road home. "It was like pushing us over!"

He and his neighbors quickly got to work on Sunday trying to clear out the storm drains and give the water a place to go.

"The water was coming against the building over here, against the house and we got about four inches of water right now in the house," he said. "It actually just went under the boards and into the house!"

Forecasters spent the weekend watching the Truckee River, expecting the water to surpass levels last seen in 2005. By Sunday afternoon, the river surpassed flood stage of 4.5 feet, swallowing up remaining ice and snow left on the banks. Many people living along the river decided to leave before flood water left them trapped inside of their homes. Lonni Banducci and her boyfriend didn't want to leave their riverside home but started to reconsider as water started to build in their driveway.

"Being on the river has been pretty stressful," she said. "A couple of weeks ago, [the water] came up past the tree and that wasn't even that much rain and we didn't have that much snow. We got a few sandbags, we dug trenches, we will leave probably if it gets past that tree, we'll grab a few things just to be safe."

The river crested Sunday night at 6.5 feet and is now below flood stage.

Much of the rain pushed snow downhill, causing mudslides and flooding throughout the region. Sunday evening brought more flooding and mudslides on I-80 and Highway 89. Roads are now back open after crews worked overnight to clear mud and snow.