California’s Newsom Seeks Federal Disaster Declaration as Rivers Swell

David R. Baker and Brian K. Sullivan
·3 min read

(Bloomberg) -- A deadly rainstorm thrashing California has forced homeowners to flee rising rivers, closed roads, caused at least two deaths and prompted President Joe Biden to declare a state of emergency.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Intense wind and rain toppled trees, crushing cars and pulling down power lines. The first of two back-to-back storms — atmospheric rivers that draw warm, moist air from far out over the ocean — struck as California struggles to recover from months of extreme weather. The drenching rains threaten to melt lingering snow from a February blizzard that buried mountain towns, elevating risks of overflowing rivers.

Some 9,400 Californians were forced to flee their homes in flood-prone areas as of midday, Nancy Ward, director of the state’s Office of Emergency Services, told reporters in a Friday briefing. Many more people are under evacuation warnings. Two deaths have been blamed on the storm already, she said, without elaborating.

“We want to remind Californians as always that they have a responsibility to prepare for themselves and to ensure that they’re safe,” Ward said. “If you’re told to evacuate, please do so as soon as possible.”

The state has opened 15 shelters in nine counties to take in anyone forced to leave their homes, Ward said. The California Department of Transportation deployed 4,000 workers on 12-hour shifts to clear roadways. Biden’s disaster declaration will speed federal aid to the hardest-hit counties.

In Santa Cruz County, officials temporarily evacuated the town of Felton as the San Lorenzo River, which flooded in January, overflowed its banks. A raging creek washed away Main Street in the nearby town of Soquel, while mudslides closed State Route 152, a major road through the area.

“We’ll be doing everything we can to keep the highways open, but public safety will be our number one priority,” said Michael Keever, the department’s chief deputy director.

Fierce winds toppled trees, including a towering eucalyptus in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park that crushed several cars. Gusts also knocked out power lines, leaving more than 58,000 homes and businesses without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us.

The California Independent System Operator, which runs most of the state’s power grid, declared a storm-related transmission emergency in the Humboldt area along the north coast.

In mountains still locked in by heavy snow, water pooled on exit ramps and lanes of Interstate 80, according to Scott Rowe, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Sacramento. Rock slides closed parts of the iconic Route 1, according to the state transportation department. Water temporarily blocked a major freeway in Oakland and another in Gilroy, south of San Jose.

In Oakland, one person died overnight when a warehouse roof fell in during the storm, although the city’s fire department said Friday the exact cause of the collapse was under investigation.

Stranded Cattle

The storm is the latest in a series of weather woes that have hurt the state’s agriculture industry, including stranding livestock. George Brightman, who cares for more than 400 cows across about 12,000 acres in northern California, has struggled to get to his animals for three weeks due to bad weather.

“The cattle have lost a lot of weight,” he said in an interview. “I’m gonna have to feed these cattle for at least a month to get them caught back up.”

He expects to spend up to $10,000 more than he budgeted to feed them more hay just to get their weight back up.

“This thing’s lasted three weeks, and all the heavy rains before that and the cold,” Brightman said of the recent weather. “It’s just been a really, really tough year.”

--With assistance from Dana Hull and Elizabeth Elkin.

(Corrects spelling of town’s name in sixth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.