Petaluma declares local emergency

Petaluma city leaders proclaimed a local state of emergency this week due to ongoing flooding caused by a series of recent storms.

The official proclamation came during the Monday, Jan. 9 City Council meeting, as relentless rainfall caused a number of local roadways to close that day, including stretches of Petaluma Boulevard North, Lakeville Highway and North McDowell Boulevard.

Also on Monday, President Joe Biden authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide relief and assistance in alleviating the impacts of storm damage in California. The city’s Petaluma-specific emergency proclamation allows it to seek FEMA reimbursement for storm-attributed costs dating back to Jan. 3, when storm conditions first ramped up, and through the upcoming storms.

As of Wednesday in Petaluma, the greatest flooding impact has been in the northern end of the city, particularly in the areas of Petaluma Boulevard North and Stony Point Road -- and perhaps most dramatically for residents of a mobile home park there.

Flooding problems became more serious there at around 6 a.m. Monday, when the Petaluma Police Department issued an evacuation advisory for the Leisure Lake Village mobile home park at 300 Stony Point Rd. as water levels continued to rise. The department also mobilized its armored rescue vehicle to help with any necessary evacuations.

Jamieson Bunn, city communications manager, said the armored vehicle was equipped with life jackets and was staged near the intersection of Petaluma Boulevard, Industrial Drive and Old Redwood Highway, which was closed as of 7:30 a.m. due to floodwaters.

The rescue vehicle made several trips through the floodwaters that morning to warn mobile home park residents, Bunn said, although only one rescue was required.

“At one point, (police) were needed to check the welfare of a resident in the park,” Bunn said. “Ultimately, however, they only had to rescue one stranded motorist who failed to follow the ‘road closed’ signs and drove through the floodwater. The (rescue vehicle) was used to reach them and evacuate them safely.”

Bunn said no other community members had to be evacuated as the floodwaters crested.

In a flood advisory issued that morning for the area around Leisure Lake, police stated that “Residents of the area should consider evacuating due to road closures,” and added, “Please note: the only way out is southbound on Stony Point Road from Denman.”

Darcy Lichter, who moved into Leisure Lake Village on June 1, found that even Denman Road was problematic Monday morning as she tried to drive to work at around 6:30 a.m. Lichter said she was about halfway down Denman Road when she realized her car was beginning to take on a lot of water. So she put it in reverse.

“This was my first experience with this kind of situation,” she said in a phone interview. “I was shocked at how much water there was.”

Lichter said she then got to the intersection of Stony Point Road and Petaluma Boulevard North, but after seeing that police had already begun putting up barricades, she turned around and headed home.

Although the water was rising around her neighborhood, it was never close to coming into her home or any others, she said.

Lichter spent the rest of the day monitoring the area on foot as she walked her dogs, and felt encouraged by the numerous trips made by the armored rescue vehicle to check up on residents in her neighborhood.

“They drove through constantly,” Lichter said. “I didn’t feel left out or abandoned.”

The Petaluma Community Center at Lucchesi Park, 320 N McDowell Blvd., was open as a shelter for any who needed it.

Meanwhile, the Petaluma Fire Department made at least six weather-related rescues Monday morning, most of them for people who drove their cars into standing water on roads such as Redwood Way and North McDowell Boulevard, said Petaluma Fire Captain Kevin Burris.

They also made one rescue of a homeless person who was surrounded by floodwaters on Corona Road where it crosses over the Petaluma River. None of the rescues resulted in injuries.

Amelia Parreira is a staff writer for the Argus-Courier. She can be reached at amelia.parreira@arguscourier.com or 707-521-5208.