Wednesday night’s storm brought 1.39 inches of rain to Sacramento as well as powerful wind gusts, but the city weathered the event without any major incidents, said Daniel Bowers, Director of Emergency Management.
“There were only two downed trees — one public, one private — and a few areas of localized flooding, including several neighborhood streets,” Bowers said.
Overnight, City crews continued to patrol streets, unclog drains and respond as necessary to ensure the safety of the residents.
Due to localized flooding, the City closed Raley Road at Magpie Creek and Berry Avenue at Power Inn Road; both streets have since reopened.
“By 2:30 a.m., the storm had weakened, and we determined that it no longer posed a threat,” Bowers said. “Department of Utilities is continuing to operate its Field Operations Center to monitor potential overflow due to runoff coming in from the east.”
City of Sacramento works year-round to prepare for winter storms
In an effort to lessen the impacts of any potential storm, the City’s urban forest division provides routine preemptive tree maintenance throughout the city on regular cycles.
Work crews maintain street trees on a tree-by-tree, block-by-block basis, ensuring that all public trees are inspected and pruned. Staff works to ensure services are distributed equitably throughout the city.
The City also has its “rain patrol,” which it deploys during especially wet weather. These crews unclog drains so streets don’t end up flooding. During a storm event, extra crews are on-call after hours responding to hundreds of calls to the City’s 311 Center.
Lastly, the City inspects and maintains floodgates throughout the year. As part of a routine procedure, the City holds drills to rehearse floodgate closures to ensure that the floodgates are quickly closed during an emergency.