Friday updates: Flooding in Tulare County forces some South Valley residents to evacuate

Follow all our weather updates at fresnobee.com/weather-news.

The Fresno area was drenched Friday morning as an atmospheric river continued to hit the region after arriving Thursday afternoon.

The storm is expected to be intense particularly in the eastern side of Fresno County and in the foothills, while lasting through Sunday.

Here are highlights of the storm’s impact:

South Valley area ordered to evacuate

11 p.m.: The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office has issued an evacuation order for residents and businesses within the Teviston community.

The order applies to all homes and businesses south of Avenue 84, south of Road 128/Road 130 to Deer Creek, along the north bank of Deer Creek to Road 140, north of Road 140 to Avenue 84, and all roads and avenues in between.

Sheriffs Boudreaux is urging people to stay clear of the waterwaters and avoid unnecessary travel.

The sheriff’s offices advised residents with a couple of general safety tips around flooded or snowed-in areas:

• Never drive into flood waters, as they are deeper, colder and faster-moving than they appear

• Do not operate electrical equipment in standing water

The National Weather Service in Hanford issued a flash flood warning from Porterville to the east by Camp Nelson. The warning runs through 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

Lake Success levels predicted to reach spillway

10 p.m.: Boudreaux issued an evacuation warning for the homes and businesses within a 1/8th of a mile on both sides of the Tule River from Richard L. Schafer Dam at Lake Success, in Porterville, to Olive Ave, in Porterville.

With the added water to Lake Success from the rain and runoff, the water levels are predicted to reach the spillway.

Evacuation orders issued in South Valley

4:45 p.m.: Sheriff Mike Boudreaux issued evacuation orders for certain parts of Tulare County.

Businesses and homes along Road 124 in Cutler, south of Avenue 408 down to Railroad Drive to Santa Fe Drive, are under evacuation order due to a levee break in the area.

The road is closed at Road 124, south of Avenue 408.

An evacuation order also was issued for parts of Exeter due to the Yokohl Creek overflowing along the banks.

The evacuation order impacts Highway 198, east of High Sierra Drive to Yokohl Drive in Exeter, with the highway closed to eastbound traffic at Road 196.

These evacuation orders are for residents and businesses along 198 at Road 217, Badger Hill Avenue, Avenue 295 and Eaton Road.

A shelter in place order, meanwhile, was issued for areas of Springville and Pine Flat due to a bridge washout.

The road is closed at Manter Meadow and Capinero Creek.

A bridge failure along Wagner Drive at Harris Road north of Springville is causing a Shelter in Place order.

An evacuation order, meanwhile, remains in effect for the Three Rivers area and Springville area.

And an evacuation warning was in effect for Ponderosa and Kings River areas.

Those in the Kern River area were issued a shelter in place for homes and businesses from County to Mountain 50.

Kings County declares emergency

3:45 p.m.: Kings County proclaimed a state of emergency due to the winter storms.

The county said it anticipates the largest amount of water flow will arrive to the area within the next 12 to 24 hours.

And the purpose of the emergency proclamation is to address the extensive weather-related damage and future damage from the snow melt, debris flow and flooding.

The storm is expected to continue to impact several roads and cause numerous hazards around the county.

Rescue teams deployed in Fresno County

1:30 p.m. Rescue teams, included swift water rescue, were deployed in areas throughout Fresno County on Friday, including Huntington and Shaver lakes and Yokuts Valley.

In a media briefing Friday afternoon, county officials said the teams had already staged several rescues, including the rescue of three people, including a 104-year-old, from a property north of Yokuts Valley. A culvert had washed out and the residence was surrounded by water.

The women were evacuated and sheltered at a fire station before being moved to the Sanger Community Center.

Two other adults and two dogs were rescued from an area near Wonder Valley.

Water flowing in and around structures on the Highway 180 corridor and streams and rivers are seeing flows increase and decrease as rains moved though the area. Increased water flows can be delayed by 12-24 hours, officials said.

Those in affected areas should continue to be prepared for possible evacuation orders, but be ready to leave before if necessary.

“You know your property more than we do,” Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni said during the update.

“Don’t wait for us.”

Heavy rain is expected to continue through Friday with a brief break on Saturday night before returning on Monday.

“This is a 10-day event,” Zanoni said.

“I don’t want people to get their guard down.”

More evacuations orders for Tulare County residents

5:30 p.m. The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office issued new evacuation order for parts of Cutler because of a levee break in the area of Road 124, south of Avenue 408. The evacuation orders are also for businesses and homes along Road 124, south of Avenue 408 down to Railroad Drive to Santa Fe Drive, which turns into Eddy, from Avenue 407 to Lee Road to Avenue 408.

The road is closed at Road 124, south of Avenue 408.

The evacuation orders are also in place for parts of Exeter because of Yokohl Creek overflowing its banks, thus forcing the office to issue evacuation orders along Highway 198, east of High Sierra Drive to Yokohl Drive in Exeter.

Highway 198 is closed to eastbound traffic at Road 196. These evacuation orders are for residents and businesses along 198 at Road 217, Badger Hill Avenue, Avenue 295 and Eaton Road.

10:15 a.m. The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office elevated warnings to evacuation orders after some areas saw catastrophic flash flooding.

Evacuation orders includes all homes and businesses on:

• North Fork Drive, south of the Baillie Bridge to Sierra Drive (Highway 198).

• South Fork Drive, north of Conley Bridge to Sierra Drive (Highway 198).

• The Middle Fork, Sierra Drive (Highway 198) to the National Park Boundary, including Mineral King Road.

• The Springville area along the south bank of the Tule River.

• The Lower Rio Vista east of Bridge Drive to east of Pleasant Oak Drive on Highway 190.

Highway 190 will be closed east of Pleasant Oaks Drive on Highway 190, the office said.

Temporary locations for those escaping the area are at Dinuba Memorial Hall, 249 S. Alta Ave. in Dinuba, and Porterville College Gym, 100 E. College Ave. in Porterville.

They are open 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Advisory message in Madera County

6 p.m. The office issued a advisory message for limited access on Road 225 because of a washout damage. The road is now a single lane and the office says to “limit to essential traffic only.”

There is no access to the Forest Service Lands because of mudslides further up Road 222.

The office posted an interactive map with current evacuation status and road closures at maderaaware,.com.

New evacuation warnings in Madera County

10 a.m. Increased water flows into Cedar Valley Pond triggered an evacuation warning for more Madera County residents, according to the Madera County Sheriff’s Office.

The warning was for the Cedar Valley Subdivision, South, the announcement said. Lakeside Drive, Cedar Place, Deer Run Trail and Lazy Oak Drive were all affected by the warning.

Evacuation order in Madera County

9:15 a.m. The Madera County Sheriff’s Office ordered an evacuation as the region has been hit by heavy rains.

The order was for the east side of Church Street in North Fork due to flooding, according to the announcement.

“There is an immediate threat to life. This is an evacuation order to leave now,” the order says. “The area is being closed to public access.”

An evacuation shelter has been established at Oakhurst Community Center, 39800 Road 425B in Oakhurst.

Large swaths of the Valley in Madera, Fresno, Tulare and other counties remain under evacuation warnings. Officials said anyone in those areas should prepare in case they are ordered to leave.

More flash flood warnings

8:30 a.m. The weather service added more flash flood warnings for San Joaquin Valley communities.

Madera County’s Bass Lake as well as Tulare County’s Goshen, Visalia and Tulare were under warning on Friday morning.

Officials encouraged residents to move to higher ground.

About 9:15 a.m., the service added Fresno County flash flood warnings for Fresno and Clovis. El Portal in Mariposa County was also warned.

Warnings for potential flash floods in Coalinga in Fresno County came at about 11 a.m. while Kaweah and Three Rivers in Tulare County got a warning at 10 a.m.

Flash flood warnings in foothills, Valley

7:15 a.m.: Several communities were under flash flood warnings Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Hanford.

Pineridge, Tollhouse and Trimmer in Fresno County and Porterville, Springville and Camp Nelson in Tulare County would all stay under the warning.

Also in Tulare County, the warning was extended to Woodlake, Lindcove and Farmersville.

“Move immediately to higher ground!” meteorologists said on social media.

Elwood Road at Piedra Road near Winton Park was impassable because of flooding on Friday, Cal Fire said.

Fresno County officials have said the human and small animal shelter was moved from Reedley College to the Sanger Community Center, 730 Recreation Ave. in Sanger.

Increased river flows, some flooding

6:45 a.m. The rainfall overnight had increased river flows in Fresno County and caused some localized flooding, according to Cal Fire Chief Dustin Hail.

He said Mill Creek in Yokuts Valley measured at 4,000 cubic feet per second on Friday, which was up from about 200 the previous day. That caused some flooding near Zumwalt.

“We haven’t seen the rainfall at 1/2 an inch or 3/4 of an inch in an hour, but we‘ve seen pretty steady rain,” he said.

But the rain falling at higher elevations takes time to get down to the San Joaquin Valley. Areas around Highway 180 and Pine Flat Dam get the water in a couple of hours while Mendota and Firebaugh could see effects in days.

The multiple days of rain in an atmospheric river predicted by the National Weather Service in Hanford could continue to compound, he said.

Fresno police also closed traffic in the westbound lanes of Herndon Avenue near Brawley Avenue because of a collision on a rainy morning.

Flights diverted from the Central Coast to Fresno

Four flights were diverted to Fresno International Airport because of heavy rainstorms, an official confirmed on Friday.

Three flights headed to San Jose and one to Monterey could not make it to their destinations on Thursday because of the inclement weather, Fresno airport spokesperson Vikkie Calderon said.

The San Jose flights left Fresno later in the day while the one to Monterey was scheduled to leave on Friday, she said. The airlines offered accommodations to those stranded in Fresno or the chance to book a different flight.

No other planes had been diverted as of 9 a.m. Friday, she said.

School closures due to weather

All of the Yosemite Unified School District campuses in Madera County were closed Friday due to weather related hazards on the school grounds and nearby roads, officials said.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and provide further information regarding next week as soon as practical,” officials said in an email.

Sierra Unified School District in eastern Fresno County also closed its schools because of the storm.

Power outages in Fresno

7:10 a.m.: An outage near the Tower District affecting over 2,600 PG&E customers has been restored.



6:30 a.m.: A power outage in Fresno impacting 2,636 PG&E customers was reported around 4 a.m.

The weather-related outage stretched from Belmont to Ashlan avenues along Palm Avenue and included part of the Tower District.

There was not estimated time of restoration.

PG&E said system-wide 56,429 customers were without power on 701 outages on Friday. The most affected area was the Central Coast Region with 42,114 customers out on 89 outages, and most of those were in and around the Monterey area, according to Denny Boyles, a spokesperson for the company.

The risk of potential power outages was expected throughout the day, he said.

PG&E reported outages in Valley locations:

• Stockton Division: 287 customers out on 22 outages.

• Yosemite Division: 309 customers out on 21 outages.

• Fresno Division: 458 customers out on 12 outages.

• Kern Division: 93 customers out on 5 outages.

China Peak closed

6 a.m.: China Peak Ski Resort at Huntington Lake closed for the day Friday in anticipation of severe wet weather, and the closure could extend into the weekend.

“We will see how things look at the end of the day to make a call on Saturday and Sunday, which don’t look nearly as severe but could still be problematic,” the ski resort reported on its website.

China Peak, with a base elevation of 7,000 feet, reported 8-14 inches of new snow Thursday before temperatures rose above 30 degrees.