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Heavy Rainfall Causes Flooding In The Sacramento Area

3:41 p.m. Update: This is drone footage of the vehicle that got stuck Thursday morning at Latrobe and Scott Roads in Sacramento County. The driver was rescued.

3:35 p.m. Update: All lanes of Freeport Boulevard are closed in both directions after a tree fell across the road. It's unknown if anyone was injured.

2:35 p.m. Update: A flash flood warning has been issued for south central Tuolumne County on Moccasin Creek after the operators of Mocassin Creek Dam today reported the dam's imminent failure. Details

12:01 p.m. Update: Turn around, don't drown! Here's a reminder that it doesn't take much water to disable your vehicle.

11:38 a.m. Update: Crews from Metro Fire Department and Folsom Fire Department rescued the driver from his vehicle that was stuck in a flooded roadway on Scott Road and Latrobe Road.

11:13 a.m. Update: A large tree has fallen across Suntree Lane in Fair Oaks.

10:53 a.m. Update: Water is flowing on the road like a river through a Cameron Park mobile home park.

10:11 a.m. Update: The roadway is flooding in Cisco Grove on Hampshire Rocks Road.

10:06 a.m. Update: A flood watch is in effect for the Sierra Foothills.

10:02 a.m. Update: Click here for a list of places where you can get free sandbags and sand.

9:47 a.m. Update: The video below shows an El Dorado County mudslide and a vehicle that drove off the road, injuring the driver.


9:33 a.m. Update: 
Flooding has closed several roads in Placer County.

  • Deputies closed Highway 49 at Cramer Road.
  • Bell Road and Orr Creek in North Auburn is closed because the road is flooded over with swift water.
  • A mudslide has closed part of eastbound Highway 50 at El Dorado Hills Boulevard.

9:21 a.m. Update: Here's another view of flooding along Sibley Street in Folsom.

9:07 a.m. Update: Northern California is seeing flooding in several places, including this irrigation ditch and parking lot along Sibley Street in Folsom.

LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) — Although the first wave of a worrisome Pacific storm didn't cause any major problems in California, a new round of heavy rain arrived Thursday, leaving authorities and disaster-weary residents on edge.

After an overnight lull, the storm picked up intensity before dawn on the state's central coast, where thousands of people have been evacuated because of the threat of debris flows and mudslides from wildfire burn areas.

Forecasters warned that disaster was still very possible.

"We're very concerned," said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Sirard. "We're hoping this isn't a cry-wolf scenario where people will pooh-pooh what we're saying."

The storm came ashore earlier in the week on the central coast and spread south into the Los Angeles region and north through San Francisco Bay, fed by a long plume of subtropical moisture called an atmospheric river or a "Pineapple Express" because of its origins near Hawaii.

It also moved east, bringing the threat of flooding to the central California interior and Sierra Nevada, where winter storm warnings for heavy snow were in effect and many routes required motorists to put chains on their vehicles.

It also moved east, bringing the threat of flooding to the central California interior and Sierra Nevada, where winter storm warnings for heavy snow were in effect and many routes required motorists to put chains on their vehicles.

Rain was expected to end in Southern California by early Friday while storms continued in the north.

Rain was expected to end in Southern California by early Friday while storms continued in the north.

Nearly 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain had fallen in northern San Luis Obispo County, while 2.7 inches (7 centimeters) fell in Santa Clarita, just north of Los Angeles and 2.6 inches (6.6 centimeters) was recorded at one spot in Santa Barbara County.

Authorities kept a close watch on Santa Barbara County, hoping there would not be a repeat of the massive January debris flows from a burn scar that ravaged the community of Montecito and killed 21 people.

Mud and rockslides closed several roads in the region, including Highway 1 at Ragged Point near Big Sur, not far from where the scenic coast route is still blocked by a massive landslide triggered by a storm last year.

A large pine tree was felled in Los Angeles, landing across a residential street into a picket fence. No one was hurt.

Carolyn Potter, 59, evacuated from her home in Casitas Springs in Ventura County on Wednesday — the fourth time since September — and plans to sleep in her car in a grocery store parking lot to avoid hotel costs and the bustle of an evacuation shelter.

Meanwhile her husband Alan is staying home, just like he has the other three times Potter has evacuated because of fires or storms since September.

"It's OK because we're not fighting," Potter said. "I get to leave and he stays. It's like, 'See you later.' We're both happy.

"I feel better not being under the cliff in my sleep," Potter said. "If he feels OK that's his problem. If something happens maybe I'll zip on down and dig him out."

With the storm expected to last through Thursday, there was concern about the combination of rainfall rates and the long duration, said Suzanne Grimmesey, a spokeswoman for Santa Barbara County.

With the grim Montecito experience in recent memory, Santa Barbara County ordered evacuation of areas along its south coast near areas burned by several wildfires dating back to 2016.

With the grim Montecito experience in recent memory, Santa Barbara County ordered evacuation of areas along its south coast near areas burned by several wildfires dating back to 2016.

Many residents in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties have faced repeated evacuations or advisories since December, when a wind-driven fire grew into the largest in recorded state history and destroyed more than 1,000 buildings.

Many residents in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties have faced repeated evacuations or advisories since December, when a wind-driven fire grew into the largest in recorded state history and destroyed more than 1,000 buildings.

With the grim Montecito experience in recent memory, Santa Barbara County ordered evacuation of areas along its south coast near areas burned by several wildfires dating back to 2016.

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