Elko and Eureka counties were dealing with minor flooding Tuesday as yet another “atmospheric river” was sweeping across the West.
Elko County reported water on Osino and Ryndon roads, and on Spring Valley Parkway and Spring Valley Court. Roads in Burner Basin are rutted and retaining water, and water was flowing over Last Chance Road near the foothills.
The road by the Nevada Department of Transportation station at Contact, off U.S. Highway 93, was washed out.
The City of Elko has been taking inventory of its pumps, and has some reserve pumping capacity on standby if needed, according to Assistant City Manager Scott Wilkinson.
Paul Algerio of the City Streets Department told city council members Tuesday that there has been some minor drainage flooding, mainly on the south side of town. The winter’s storms with repeated freezing and thawing are taking their toll on streets.
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With the water, all of the snow on the side of the roads, and everything melting across the travel lanes, “vehicles are just pounding holes” in the pavement. Algerio said the City is doing its best to stay on top of it.
The City and other local governments have made sandbags available to residents at locations throughout the county. Residents anywhere in the county can call 775-777-2574 to find a location for sandbags, to report minor flooding and pooling of water, or to be connected with other resources.
According to the National Weather Service, the Humboldt River in Elko stood at 3.1 feet on Tuesday. Flood stage is 6.2 feet.
The Humboldt’s level in Eureka County has topped 6 feet. In the southern part of the county, water has been reported on U.S. Highway 50, State Route 278, and roads in Diamond Valley.
“Speed bump” signs were placed on State Route 278 about 20 miles north of Eureka on Monday after buckling worsened over the weekend.
“Significant progress was made in Pine Valley, as local and state officials worked with farmers to help repair access to over 350 cows to be able to safeguard them from being without food,” the Eureka County Sheriff’s Office stated.
Mitigation efforts were made to re-route water and reduce the impact to residences in the Third Street housing area, but residents were told Tuesday to prepare in the event of an evacuation order.
“The water we are experiencing is unprecedented and unpredictable on where it is coming from, and how fast it is flowing,” stated Sheriff Jesse Watts. “We are suggesting you be aware of your emergency access and egress.”
There was no flooding at i-80 Gold Corp.’s Ruby Hill Mine on the outskirts of the town of Eureka, but conditions were muddy and wet Tuesday.
Todd Sylvester, site manager for McEwen Mining’s Gold Bar Mine roughly 25 miles west of the town of Eureka, said there is flooding on the Three Bar and Roberts Creek county roads that are traveled to reach the mine site.
“We’re good at the mine,” he said. “There is just difficulty getting in and out.”
To report flooding or to obtain information on available resources in Eureka County, call 775-237-5330.
Ten “atmospheric rivers” have coursed through California into Nevada this winter, according to the National Weather Service. The latest one put nearly 27,000 California residents under evacuation orders Tuesday due to flooding and landslide risks. On the central coast, workers hauled truckloads of rocks to plug a broken river levee amid steady rain and wind.
Damaging winds with gusts topping 70 mph blew out windows, and there were numerous reports of falling trees. Power outages hit more than 330,000 utility customers in northern and central areas, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide.
Powerful winds damaged windows in a San Francisco high-rise, causing glass to rain down and forcing evacuations from the building in the financial district. No injuries were immediately reported.
Highway 1, a main link between the Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, was closed along with several other roads.
