Saturday storm delivers rain, mudslides and power outages to North Bay

ByCornell Barnard KGO logo
Sunday, January 15, 2023
Saturday storm delivers rain, mudslides, power outages to North Bay
Saturday's storm packed a punch in the North Bay, toppling trees, triggering mud and rockslides, while also causing flooding and power outages.

NORTH BAY, Calif. (KGO) -- Saturday's storm packed a punch in the North Bay, toppling trees, triggering mud and rockslides, while also causing flooding and power outages.

"The house shook a bit, big explosion from live wires hitting, and a flash," said Gail Coppinger.

That's what Coppinger heard and saw Saturday morning, the moment her 150-foot-tall Cypress tree fell over Highway 1, closing the road and knocking out power to a wide swath of West Marin.

"Our power will be out for a while, so I'm going to town to get some ice," she said.

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Most of Point Reyes Station was in the dark for hours but the Bovine Bakery found a way to stay open.

"My co-worker brought a generator from home for window lights and the cash register, so we had the register going," said bakery employee Katie Arndt.

The storm was fierce with heavy rain and wind.

The intersection of Highways 12 and 121 in Sonoma was closed after runoff from a nearby creek transformed it into a raging river.

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A Cal Fire crew came upon a rockslide on Deer Park Road in Napa County.

And a Mudslide closed portions of Stage Gulch Road near Petaluma. The CHP was telling drivers to slow down.

In Novato, Armstrong Avenue was flooded.

Resident Roland Fuette got stuck trying to drive through.

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Nearly 20 residents have been displaced after a mudslide flowed into the back of an apartment building in Fairfax Friday morning.

"The car got so wet it stopped, the motor quit, and I couldn't restart it," Fuette said.

Big trees came down in Sonoma County, blocking roads around Sebastopol and Occidental. A largetree fell in Mill Valley, closing Marion Avenue.

First responders say after the rain stops, flooding and mudslide issues may continue.

"All the runoff is going to increase water flow. That's always a concern 24 hours after a significant rain like we had," said Marin County Fire Battalion Chief, Todd Overshiner.

The upside of all the January storms? Plenty of waterfalls and a few rainbows.

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