Sutter County Administrative Officer Steven M. Smith, acting in his capacity as Director of Emergency Services, today proclaimed the existence of a county wide emergency in the midst of a series of severe winter storms.

The proclamation, which allows the County to access state and federal resources, expires in seven days unless ratified by the Sutter County Board of Supervisors.

In a staff report for the January 10 regular Board of Supervisors meeting, Smith described the reason for requesting ratification, Smith noted the County has since December 28 experienced extraordinary storm conditions resulting in local flooding and power outages in areas throughout Sutter County. The storms, caused by a large atmospheric river, are expected to continue until at least January 16, with additional high mile per hour winds and significant rainfall that could bring local rivers to monitor stage and, possibly, flood stage. On Wednesday, January 4, the Governor declared a statewide emergency related to the severity of the storms.

Smith said he signed the proclamation "due to the potential for displacement of people from low-lying areas immediately adjacent to the rivers and other areas of Sutter County that may be affected, and the need for resources to address safety and property issues."

While Sutter County has fared well thus far in the storms and there is no immediate threat to any of the 260 miles of levees in Sutter County, there are a number of south county and Sutter Bypass roads flooded and officials are preparing for potential future issues. Emergency Manager Zachary Hamill has been coordinating meetings with city, county, levee district, reclamation district, school, transit, fire, law, PG&E, California Office of Emergency Services, and National Weather Service officials.

“As the result of the ongoing drought, there is plenty of room in the reservoirs behind the dams that impact our rivers, so the rivers are not currently forecast to be a threat to our levee systems,” said Hamill. “However, there is a history here of atmospheric river events filling up reservoirs fast and dumping enough rain on top of saturated soils below the dams to generate enough runoff to create substantial rise in river elevations. We need to be prepared and we ask that all residents of the county think in terms of preparedness as well. You can sign up for local emergency alerts and find great resources on river and reservoir levels, and how to be prepared for any emergency, at bepreparedsutter.org.”

Prior to the New Year's weekend storm, Sutter County sheriff's deputies and Yuba City police officers began informing those living on the river side of the levees on the Feather River at Yuba City of the expected rising water levels. While a majority of the individuals heeded the warning and moved to higher elevation, some were awakened by the river entering their tents.

No one was injured.

For the duration of the storms and high water, Sutter County has converted its secure, three-acre overnight camping area on Second Street into an area where those abandoning the river's edge can get respite. Members of the Homeless Engagement and Resolution Team (HEART), supervised by Sutter-Yuba Behavioral Health Services, are engaging with those in camp to help connect them to services. Adventist Health and Rideout's street nursing program has been on site. Some tents and sleeping bags have been provided by various non-profit and local government sources.

In northwestern Sutter County, at Lovey's Landing near the Colusa County border north of Meridian, sheriff's deputies this week notified about 70 people living at a commercial trailer park on the levee side of the Sacramento River that the river is forecast to enter the park early next week.

(Image: as designed, the Sacramento River began overflowing the Tisdale Weir again today, with water flowing into the Sutter Bypass system).