A car plows through a portion of flooded roadway on Old Auburn Road outside Holy Family Church during recent rains on Oct. 16, 2016. // CH Sentinel
Citrus Heights police said a total of 13 collisions were reported on Oct. 14 in the city, more than five times the daily average.
The figure was reported by Lt. Jason Russo who noted that the collisions occurred on a weekend that brought the first significant rain of the season. Police document an average of around 700 collisions in Citrus Heights each year, or about two collisions per day in the city, according to the latest annual report provided by police to the city council.
In a statement Tweeted out by the Citrus Heights Police Department on Friday, the department said drivers are advised to use extra caution when driving in the rain and are legally required to have headlights on when windshield wipers are in use.
Police also noted that roads will be slick and visibility diminished with rain this weekend. They advised drivers to travel at a slower speed to account for increased stopping distance on wet pavement.
Although distributing over 11,000 sandbags and preparing to handle the worst weather predictions, a lead engineer reported this week’s storm had “fizzled” in Citrus Heights as of Thursday night, with some staff even being sent home early.
“With all the media noise that began on Sunday about this ‘stormageddon,’ we started the (preparation) process right away,” said Citrus Heights Principle Civil Engineer Stuart Hodgkins in a storm report to the city council, Thursday. “Actually it was more like a fizzle; it was pleasantly quiet today.”
Terry McClammy, who runs an organic community farm in Citrus Heights, also agreed, calling the storm “a dud.”
“The storm did not meet or exceed any of my expectations,” the 57-year-old farmer said Friday, although happy to have the clouds drop some free water on his crops.
While other areas outside the city and around the state struggled with flooding, toppled trees and power outages, Hodgkins credited some part of the minimal storm impact in Citrus Heights to preventative efforts over the past few years like “aggressive” storm drainage cleaning, drainage improvement projects in problem areas, as well as work by Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps members to clean out creeks.
Hodgkins said the City’s preparations began late Monday morning, with residents filling more than 11,000 free sandbags in just over 2 days, going through about 120 cubic yards of sand, according to Hodgkins.
“We had a very good setup and were well organized and ready for this ‘huge’ storm,” said the principle engineer to council members, although volunteers and sand ran a bit short at the City’s two sandbag locations. “We’ve had a lot of rain, but the wind didn’t materialize.”
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Hodgkins said staff “had two trees to address” Thursday, but that crews were left mostly raking leaves away from storm drains throughout the day, while others were sent home.
By 9 a.m. Friday, the National Weather Service’s report on the past 24 hours of rainfall showed the storm had dropped 2.64 inches of rain in Sacramento. Some additional showers are expected through tonight.
Updated Dec. 11, 9:46 a.m.– “Load your own” sandbag locations in Citrus Heights have been busy this week, with shovel-ready residents stopping by through Wednesday to load up on free sand in preparation for heavy rains and high winds hitting the area this week.
Delorean Walton, 29, helps his mom, Michele, fill up sandbags in preparation for a large storm expected Wednesday.
“This is definitely going to be a lifesaver,” said 29-year-old Delorean Walton, who was out Tuesday helping his mom fill sandbags, saying they’ve had some close calls with flooding in the past. “It was nice they put the piles out here early.”
Although free for Citrus Heights residents, volunteer Sarah Clement was on scene checking ID’s Tuesday, saying more than a few people were turned away for coming from outside the city limits.
The first-time volunteer also said the “steady stream” of sandbaggers had been “remarkably kind” all day at the McDonald Field location.
“Everybody’s been really nice and helpful,” Clement said, noting a man who returned to donate some cut-off traffic cones to help others funnel sand into the narrow bag openings. “A couple of people have even come and volunteered to help senior citizens load bags.”
The City’s Management Analyst Regina Cave said due to weight considerations, residents will be limited to 10 bags for those with cars and small trucks — although she said larger trucks will be allowed to take more, if needed. She also recommended residents take a shovel along, as bags and sand at the two locations are provided by the City, but shovels aren’t guaranteed.
Cave said the City is also urgently looking for volunteers willing to check ID’s and monitor supplies at the sandbag locations, as she said they currently do not have enough man-power to stay open after 5 p.m.
Those interested in volunteering at the sandbag stations are invited to call (916) 727-4736. Other sandbag or storm-related questions should be directed to the general services main line at (916) 727-4770.
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Citrus Heights sandbag locations and hours (December 2014):
Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or until supplies run out (Update: Citrus Heights police tweeted an update Thursday morning saying that sandbag stations “will remain closed until further notice.” An employee at Lowe’s said their Citrus Heights location was also out of sandbags as of Wednesday evening, although other hardware stores may have bags in stock. Follow The Sentinel on Facebookor Twitter for local updates.)
McDonald Field (at the corner of Old Auburn and Antelope Road).
C-Bar-C Park (off Oak Avenue, just East of Fair Oaks Boulevard).
Updated Dec. 10, 12:33 p.m.–
The City of Citrus Heights is busy providing storm preparation tips and getting staff and equipment ready for fallen trees, clogged gutters and flooding that often accompany the heavy winds and rain expected this week.
A car splashes through a large puddle on the side of Old Auburn Road, during last week’s rain.
“The biggest concern is the winds that are coming through,” said Regina Cave with the Citrus Heights General Services division, recalling the “havoc” caused in 2008 and 2012 by heavy rains and clogged storm drains from late leaf-drops.
“We’ll have staff waiting here for all the calls, and we’ll have field staff prepared with equipment, chainsaws, to go out and assist,” said Cave, regarding the City’s current storm preparations. “We’ll also have our tree contractor that will be located here on our campus ready for calls.”
Cave offered several preparation recommendations for residents, emphasizing the need for clearing leaves from around nearby gutters, curbs and storm drains to allow for proper drainage.
“Do not clear them onto your lawn, they need to be put in their green waste containers,” said Cave, commenting that winds and rain will just “put ’em back into the gutters.”
Cave, who serves as a management analyst for the City’s general services division, also recommends residents pick up some sandbags if their property is lower in elevation, or if their driveway is flat and tends to get some run-off into garages or front doors during regular rains. For those located near creeks, she “strongly recommends” getting some sandbags from one of the City’s two free sandbag locations, or at a hardware store.
For flooding-related issues or downed trees during the storm, residents can call general services at (916) 727-4770, although the City doesn’t respond to private property trees, unless it’s blocking the sidewalk or road, according to Cave. Trees or branches falling on power lines can be reported to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, via their outage line at (888) 456-7683.
“We’ll respond as fast as we can, as urgently as we can,” said Cave, who cautioned that in cases where the creeks are full, there will be localized flooding. “People need to keep in mind that when the creeks get really full, they have a certain capacity, and the storm drains will not drain down fast because [they’re] all going to the creeks.”
She also warned that high winds paired with soil saturation from rains will make it easier for trees to come down during the storm and recommended parking vehicles in garages, or at least on a driveway to enable free flow of water draining at the street. Keeping flashlights on hand for power outages, unplugging Christmas lights, and bringing any loose outdoor décor inside is also recommended.
The Citrus Heights Police Department is also active in preparing for the storm, with Sergeant Mike Wells sending out a press release Wednesday morning advising motorists of several locations that “historically had issues” with flooding in the past. The areas listed are Sunrise Boulevard between Twin Oaks Avenue and Woodmore Oaks, Greenback Lane between Fair Oaks Boulevard and Sunrise Boulevard, Van Maren Lane between Greenback Lane and Calvin Drive, Antelope Road and Auburn Boulevard, as well as Mariposa Avenue and Highland Avenue.
The Department also referred non life-threatening calls to SMUD, PG&E and the City’s general services division. Calls to Citrus Heights General Services are typically answered by staff 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with calls forwarded to police dispatch after hours.
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Related info: Citrus Heights General Services: (916) 727-4770 (24-hours-a-day) SMUD outage line: (888) 456-7683
