Evacuation orders lifted in Sacramento County, six days after New Year’s Eve flooding
Evacuation and shelter-in-place orders were lifted Friday morning for rural parts of south Sacramento County, six days after a New Year’s Eve torrent caused widespread flooding.
The mandatory evacuation order for Point Pleasant, a shelter-in-place order for Wilton and evacuation warnings for Glanville Track and Franklin Pond have all ended, the county’s Office of Emergency Services said.
The county warned, however, that with more storms in the forecast this weekend and continuing into next week, that “conditions can change rapidly,” urging residents to be prepared in the event of additional evacuation or shelter orders, as well as power outages.
The rural communities were evacuated beginning last Saturday, when heavy downpours from an “atmospheric river” storm led the Cosumnes and Mokelumne rivers to exceed flood stage. Private levees near Wilton were breached at several points.
Wilton was briefly ordered to evacuate last weekend. Remaining residents who did not evacuate were then told to shelter in place, and not to attempt traversing flooded roadways.
The evacuation advisories remained in place as another atmospheric river struck Northern California on Wednesday and Thursday, though rain totals in Sacramento County mostly fell short of forecasts. No major flooding incidents were reported from that storm.
At least three people have been found dead in south Sacramento County floodwaters following the New Year’s Eve storm, two of them found in the area of Dillard Road and Highway 99, south of Elk Grove, with a third found near Galt.
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on Monday ratified a local emergency proclamation for the storms and flooding. The county in Friday’s news release said damage assessments from last weekend’s flooding are still in progress.
This story was originally published January 6, 2023 at 10:14 AM.
