Specter of ’97 flood looms large near Tuolumne River as residents brace for new storm

Elizabeth Herroz flips between two photos on her phone. One of her house in January 1997 and one today.

Water inundates the single-story home just south of the Tuolumne River in the former, and in the latter it is dry with gray clouds overhead.

“Right now the water down the street is really, really high. My son-in-law was raised in the house we are in. And they had to move in ’97 because the water was 4 feet in the house,” she said. “So we aren’t taking any chances. We don’t want our stuff to get wet. We’re pulling out tonight.”

Herroz’s Riverdale Park neighborhood in southwest Modesto was hit hard by the flood of ’97. Her family’s home was among some 1,700 in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties that were flooded during that time. Now, with another strong storm scheduled to hit the area Monday, residents are being told by the Sheriff’s Department to be prepared to evacuate if necessary. Officials from the Turlock Irrigation District, which manages Don Pedro Reservoir, said if enough water comes down, the controlled spillway could be opened Tuesday or Wednesday.

Those warnings are being taken very seriously, particularly by those who remember living through the last major flood 20 years ago. Down the street near Riverdale Park, Duane Shugart and his family rented a U-Haul to pack up their belongings. In 1997, floodwaters came up almost to the top of his door jamb. Shugart said sheriff’s deputies came through the neighborhood Saturday morning, handing out flood information letters and alerting people to the rising waters.

Jesus Bautista filled the back of his pickup with sand at the Modesto corporation yard. City residents can pick up 20 free sandbags at the site. He returned to his property off Vivian Road to fill sandbags with his family. They planned to surround the house and doors, but then leave the area themselves – along with the dogs, cows, horses, goats and chickens that roam their 5-acre plot.

“The sheriff came around in the morning and told us we should leave by Sunday night, that there’s a good chance we’ll get flooded,” he said. “We’re hoping nothing happens. But we want to be safe.”

Water was already covering most of Alberto Bolanos’ backyard. The recent Los Angeles transplant wore fishing waders to trudge into the water as he rescued items from two of his flooded sheds. Bolanos bought the home, along a bend in the river at Hatch and Vivian roads, just three months ago. He surveyed the damage and fretted about the rising water. But he and his wife did not plan to evacuate unless it became mandatory.

“Until they tell us we have to leave, I’ll stay. I’m worried about all my stuff. It’s hard, but I don’t want to leave my house,” he said.

Bolanos said he had been told about past flooding in the area, but didn’t worry at the time because “I talked to the people around and they said it has been like over 20 years that it happened last.”

Stanislaus sheriff’s Sgt. Anthony Bejaran said deputies have gone through low-lying neighborhoods near the river from Shiloh Road to the Basso Bridge in Patterson. Deputies have been advising people to safeguard their property and take animals to higher ground. They have also given out emergency contacts for Stanislaus Animal Services and the Red Cross. Bejaran said an American Red Cross emergency shelter at the Hammond Center in Patterson is being moved to the Stanislaus County Fairground in Turlock on Sunday. Residents can sign up at www.stanaware.com to receive emergency notifications from the county.

Turlock Irrigation District spokesman Brandon McMillan said precipitation levels are being monitored closely. He said Don Pedro Reservoir’s maximum storage level of 830 feet is not expected to be reached Sunday. But Monday’s storm could push it over the edge. Bonds Flat Road between Highways 59 and 132 will be closed by 9 a.m. Monday to prepare for a possible spillway opening for the first time since the 1997 flood. Crews will install concrete road barriers near the spillway channel. The California Highway Patrol will reopen the road after the work is done.

Already, high winds and waters from the storm Friday have caused damage across the region. More than 100 trees were reported down in Modesto due to gusts that clocked in about 50 mph. Two 50-foot eucalyptus trees were uprooted Friday night at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post on West Hatch Road. No one was injured, but the trees fell onto a portion of the new playground set the post built in 2015. The group had raised more than $20,000 for the project.

The VFW post flooded in 1997, but was rebuilt several feet higher after a fire 10 years later. Former post commander Pat Rosales came to survey the damage and was relieved it wasn’t more extensive.

“We’re not too worried about the water, since we raised the post higher,” she said. “But we’d been worried about these trees for a while. Now we’ve got to get them out of here. So if anyone wants firewood, come on down.”

This story was originally published February 18, 2017 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Specter of ’97 flood looms large near Tuolumne River as residents brace for new storm."