At least one person drowned in Redding on Sunday amid heavy rainfall and flooding in Northern California.
Redding Mayor Mike Littau described a harrowing overnight scene on flooded Highway 273, where a man was trapped in a vehicle as water poured in. Facing the violent storm, first responders could not reach the man before his emergency call disconnected.
“The phone died,” Littau wrote on Facebook. “A Redding police officer swam out into the water, broke the windows and pulled [the] victim to shore.”
The officer attempted CPR, but the man — later identified as Richard Michael Wilsey, 74 — was later pronounced dead, according to Littau.
Gusty winds and heavy rainfall created what weather professionals called a “convergence line” that lingered over Shasta County for hours on Sunday, dropping more than 5 inches of rain in some areas.
The surge overwhelmed infrastructure and flooded much of the city, which is about 160 miles north of Sacramento.
Now, officials are “very concerned” that conditions could worsen throughout the week as the atmospheric river storm system heads south, threatening what the National Weather Service predicted could be the Southland’s stormiest Christmas in recent memory.
The California Department of Transportation warned that flooding could occur with little notice and advised residents to evacuate or prepare to shelter in place.
“Conditions are unsafe, and first responders are already stretched thin,” Caltrans said in an alert Monday. “If you must travel and encounter water on the roadway, turn around. Don’t drown.”
An evacuation center was opened at Pilgrim Congregational Church at 2850 Foothill Blvd. in Redding.
As much as 20 inches of rain deluged other areas of Northern California over the weekend, with the Plumas National Forest east of Chico recording more than 12 inches Sunday.
Farther south, flooding near Cisco Grove west of Lake Tahoe prompted evacuation warnings along Hampshire Rocks Road as the Yuba River surged. Placer County sheriff’s deputies rescued nine people from a home alongside a raging river on Sunday afternoon. No injuries were reported.
By Monday evening, rainfall totals in Sacramento were minimal and climbing.
Nearly all of California is under a flood watch, or soon will be. The watch will take effect across much of Southern California on Tuesday and is expected to expire Wednesday night, while large portions of Central and Northern California are forecast to remain at elevated flood risk through Friday.
“We have storm drains being cleared and areas of concern being identified for the next three days all around the City of Redding,” Littau said. “Today is a good day to prepare as we know more rain is coming.”
Meteorologists predict the storm could drop 4 to 8 inches of rain across much of Southern California, with the heaviest rainfall expected Wednesday. Conditions should largely clear up by Saturday, according to the National Weather Service’s Oxnard office.
“Please take the necessary protective actions as flooding and debris flow will be a major issue this upcoming week,” the weather service warned.
