Petaluma recovers from week of rain

A series of winter storms swept through Sonoma County in the past week, wreaking havoc on Petaluma, swamping streets, prompting evacuations and downing trees - including a large branch from a stately eucalyptus that crushed a Petaluma couple’s trailer.

Forecasts Wednesday indicated that the water-logged city will get a break from the winter weather in the coming days, with a low chance of scatted showers Thursday, giving way to mostly sunny skies through the weekend.

The worst of several storms hit Petaluma on Sunday, bringing nearly two inches of rain and cresting the Petaluma River around Corona Road and the Petaluma Auto Mall during high tide. Houses along Petaluma Boulevard North experienced flooding, and the parking lot of the Petaluma Village Premium Outlets was filled with several inches of water, according to General Manager Jessica Burnett.

Though water puddled throughout the mall, no businesses were damaged. Retailers closed their doors around 3 p.m., but as many as 100 people braved the winter weather to shop Sunday, she said.

On Sunday, multiple roads around the city were shut down due to flooding, including Stony Point Road, North McDowell Boulevard and parts of Petaluma Boulevard North, which was reduced to one lane of traffic, according to a release from police. Penngrove Park was under several feet of water.

Residents from two mobile home parks in Penngrove and Petaluma were evacuated Sunday and the city’s emergency operations center was briefly activated. Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District firefighters rescued two occupants from an RV parked on a Penngrove property near the shuttered Green Mill Inn on Old Redwood Highway as waters rose to waist-deep levels, Administrative Manager Jennifer Ober said. The Red Cross assisted the residents in finding a temporary shelter, she said.

Another storm on Tuesday brought torrential rainfall, but spared the city of any major flooding. The wind from the storm knocked out power to the North Bay Children’s Center at Cherry Valley.

A downed tree Tuesday night shut down Stony Point Road between Mecham Road and West Railroad Avenue for at least several hours, Rancho Adobe Battalion Chief Andy Taylor said Wednesday morning, though no other major incidents or injuries were reported, he said.

The city’s public works crews worked during the storms to control and prevent flooding in known hot-spots around the city, according to Dan St. John, the city’s director of public works and utilities. No major damage was observed inside the city limits during the week of storms, he said. A terracing project at the northern end of the Petaluma River known as Denman Reach seemed to have worked, he said.

“Denman Reach projects, including recently completed phase three, performed as designed and provided a significant volume of flood water storage in that critical reach of the Petaluma River,” he said in an email.

The beginning of the system on the evening of Jan. 3 brought strong winds that toppled trees in Petaluma. One large eucalyptus landed on Petaluma couple Jeff and Ashley Harold’s trailer, stored in a parking lot off of Wood Sorrel Drive, crushing their dreams in the process.

Since their wedding in 2015, the couple had big plans to create a mobile photo booth business to rent out at weddings and events. In March, when they moved to an east side Petaluma neighborhood that they later learned came with a RV parking spot as part of the homeowners association perks, it seemed like fate.

The couple last spring purchased a 1965 Aristocrat Land Commander and Jeff Harold, a general contractor, spent six months undertaking major renovations to the trailer in preparation for the December launch of their business, “HITCH photo booth.” The pair sunk an estimated $25,000 into the trailer, with high hopes that their venture would allow them to start a family in Petaluma.

They named the trailer “Betty Jane,” after Jeff Harold’s grandmother, and booked five local events in 2016, with at least 10 more inquires for the coming months.

Their dreams were interrupted during the gusty storm that blew through the city last week, sending a branch from a large tree onto the roof of the trailer overnight, crumpling the walls and leaving splintered wood and shattered glass strewn inside.

“It was a labor of love and now it’s literally crushed,” said Jeff Harold, 33, adding that the couple hopes to relaunch the business as soon as possible.

The branch also fell on a 1960 Air Steam, caving in the roof and smashing the frame of the vintage trailer.

The trailer’s owner, Tony Hewlett, has spent more than a decade renovating the Air Stream and taking it on trips around the country, building memories with his family and friends, he said.

“I know I can’t get that back,” he said.

The tree is rooted on a swath of land that runs parallel to the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit tracks, though it’s not immediately clear whose property it’s on.

A damage estimate and the amount of revenue lost were not immediately available.

The incident set the stage for a stormy week in Petaluma, which has received a reported 5.18 inches of rain since last Wednesday. Throughout the county, rivers breached their banks, prompting evacuations in areas around the Russian River and leaving thousands without power.

According to rainfall totals, Petaluma has seen a steep increase in rainfall this year, with 20.13 inches recorded Monday as opposed to 10.57 inches as of last year to date.

“Certainly, in most places around the Bay Area, this is the most rain we’ve seen in about 10 years,” National Weather Service forecaster Steve Anderson said Tuesday, adding that the water-soaked ground is likely to give way to landslides and trees may topple from the winds and wet soil.

(Contact Hannah Beausang at hannah.beausang@arguscourier.com.)