North Bay

Incoming Storm Puts North Bay Burn Zones on Alert

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch through Saturday morning for the North Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains

The incoming storm has Wine Country on alert.

Officials in the North Bay are not too concerned about how much rain they are expected to get, but how fast and furious it may come down. 

The storm will also be the first real test of how the erosion control work done in Santa Rosa's Fountaingrove holds up. The area was heavily damaged in last year's Tubbs Fire.

Alberto Lana lost his home in the fire and has been surveying the landscape ahead of this week's storm.

"The one fortunate thing is you see a lot of grass and that probably helps a lot," Lana said.

For months, Santa Rosa fire officials said they have been prepping the burn areas for storms. Crews spent Thursday cleaning debris and sediment from some 300 storm drains.

While previous storms have largely fizzled out, officials fear this coming storm could be the real deal.

"Even though we're expecting up to four inches, the totals aren't the concern -- it's the rainfall rates and the intensity," Santa Rosa Assistant Fire Marshall Paul Lowenthal said. "Especially in the burn areas."

Authorities are encouraging North Bay residents to check if their area is at risk of flooding at SonomaRecovers.org.

A flood watch is in effect through Saturday morning for the North Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains, weather officials said. View full weather alerts here.

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