NEVADA CITY, Calif. January 13, 2017 – The Nevada County Board of Supervisors will meet in a special meeting on Tuesday, January 17, to “ratify a Proclamation of a Local Emergency in Nevada County due to Extreme Weather from an Atmospheric River Event and to request the Governor to proclaim a State of Emergency for Nevada County.”
During the last atmospheric river event, over 17,000 sandbags were made available to Nevada County residents by the county’s Public Works Department.
Widespread flooding was reported, with major infrastructure damage to roads and some water systems. Sewer treatment plants were at or over capacity.
Truckee and the eastern side of the county were without electricity for an extended period of time due to Truckee Donner PUD losing connection with their energy provider. A warming shelter was opened at the Truckee Airport, power is mostly restored as of today. North Lake Tahoe is still grappling with major outages. Many of the damages in the high country won’t become apparent until after the snowmelt.
Several large sinkholes have appeared, with additional smaller ones being reported daily. Flooding is receding, however additional precipitation from another atmospheric river forecast for Wednesday and Thursday could compound flooding and associated damages.
As of today, Nevada County has received 205% of normal precipitation, with close to 20 inches in January alone.
El Dorado County declared a local emergency on Tuesday. Yuba County initiated voluntary evacuations for homes and businesses close to the river, closed several roads as a precautionary measure and proclaimed at local state of emergency on Tuesday. Placer County opened several warming shelters in the Lake Tahoe area.