Rain creating hazardous conditions in El Dorado County

There’s more rain in store for the Sacramento region Sunday, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.

Showers should continue throughout the day with the last wave of rain moving into the area tonight, NWS meteorologist Travis Wilson said. Downtown Sacramento received 0.77 inches of rain since Oct. 1 and should see another 0.4 inches Sunday.

In the Sierra foothills, heavier rainfall is complicating efforts to clean up after the Emerald Fire, said Cal Fire spokesman Brice Bennett.

“It’s creating quite a mess on the roadway in areas where the fire burned with intensity,” he said. The fire consumed about 200 acres Friday in El Dorado County’s Emerald Bay area.

The Sierras saw more rain than downtown Sacramento. Blue Canyon received 2.29 inches of rain in the last 24 hours, Placerville received 1.56 and South Lake Tahoe received 1.33 inches. The highest amount in the area was 2.88 inches, recorded at Bald Mountain between I-80 and Highway 50, according to the NWS.

Rain created hazardous conditions where the Emerald Fire burned near South Lake Tahoe. Mandatory evacuations are in place for 500 homes in the Tahoe Basin near Fallen Leaf Lake and Cascade Lake Trail – not because of the fire, which is out, but because of flowing debris blocking roadways and the danger of falling trees, Bennett said.

He said Highway 89 is closed between Fallen Leaf Road and Emerald Bay North Gate. Caltrans is working to remove debris – including rocks, trees and mud – that streamed through the area damaged by the fire and onto the roadway.

“The rain just came so quickly after the fire that there hasn’t been any opportunity to do rehabilitation efforts for soil erosion,” Bennett said. “We’re going back in at the earliest opportunity to do that.”

Snow levels have been high so far, but should come down to 6,000 feet as the rain tapers off, Wilson said. The NWS predicts between 3 and 6 inches of snow could fall on the Sierra Nevada passes Sunday night into Monday morning. Donner Pass is predicted to see 3 inches, but since the snow will fall on warm pavement, Wilson said it is likely to be slushy with low accumulation.

In downtown Sacramento, Sunday should be breezy, with wind speeds building into the afternoon, gusting as high as 34 miles per hour. The rain is predicted to ease off by Monday morning.

“We’ll begin clearing out tomorrow morning,” Wilson said.

The detailed, seven-day forecast for the Sacramento region from the NWS:

Today: Showers, mainly after 11 a.m. High near 69 degrees. Breezy, with a south wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 18 to 23 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Tonight: Showers. Low around 54. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 17 to 22 mph decreasing to 10 to 15 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers before 11a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 70. South southwest wind 7 to 9 mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. Southwest wind 6 to 8 mph.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. North northwest wind 3 to 6 mph.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 51.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 75.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 51.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 78.

Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 53.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 81.

Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 52.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 80.

This story was originally published October 16, 2016 at 9:34 AM with the headline "Rain creating hazardous conditions in El Dorado County."