Sunday’s mostly dry weather gave residents of Guerneville and Forestville a brief moment to assess flood damage and clean up.
“It was really, really messy,” said Guerneville homeowner Crescencio Chavez.
Most of Chavez’s front yard was underwater on Saturday. He said it was very fortunate that the water did not enter the house.
“It was 20 feet of water here. But there it was probably about 4 to 4 feet,” Chavez described, pointing to several spots in his yard that were flooded.
The water receded overnight, leaving behind mud, leaves and other debris.
Crescencio and many other families were busy washing and picking up trash on Sunday.
“Not everyone has a tractor, so I can do something in just a few minutes that would take 10 people hours,” said Guerneville resident and handyman Liam Brayton.
Brayton drove his tractor around town helping people clear debris from their homes for free.
“Maybe if I do this, someone else will step in, make a call and start helping,” Brayton said.
A nonprofit group was also out at mobile home parks, handing out $100 gift cards to low-income families affected by the storm.
“I’m handing out gift cards to help with immediate needs because people who live in these areas, especially in the off-season in a resort area, have their work cut back and they don’t make that much money in the first place,” says Jeniffer Wertz of the Russian River Alliance.
The storm not only flooded many low-lying areas, but also the authorities believed it had killed a man who tried to drive through flooded Mays Canyon Road near downtown Guerneville Saturday morning. First responders removed the body from the submerged car.
In a separate incident in Santa Rosa, authorities recovered a body from Piner Creek also on Saturday mornings. An investigation was underway to determine how the man ended up in the creek.
