Sonoma County

No Boats Needed: Guerneville Residents Walk Around Town After Russian River Flood Levels Drop

Guerneville residents are now able to venture around town without a boat for the first time in five days.

The waterlogged town in Sonoma County was one of the hardest hit areas from storms that moved through the Bay Area this week, bringing heavy rain and flooding the nearby Russian River.

The river crested on Wednesday, reaching its highest level in about a decade. Late Wednesday it stood more than 37 feet, 5 feet above flooding levels.

Residents in the tiny wine country town were seen canoeing and kayaking to get around the area.

Water levels of the river and nearby creeks started to recede Thursday and allowed residents to walk around town. On Friday, however, meteorologists said the river levels should drop dramatically. By the end of the weekend, the river could drop back down to 15 feet.

"It always feels good when it stops raining. When it stops raining you know you are going to be OK," resident Wendy Chavarria said. "It's going to be dirty, but you're going to work through it."

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Neighbors are now left muddy and wet, but residents said the damage from the storms is not anything they cannot handle.

"As far as loss, there is no loss, but there is a mess and the loss of time," resident Anthony Caligiuri said.

In addition to flooding, storms also damaged the region's roads. A portion of Cazadero Highway, just west of Guerneville, gave way early Thursday.

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