Tag Archives: flood water

SHELTERED IN PLACE

Posted on March 13, 2023 by John | Leave a comment

Highwater debris,

enough to measure peak flow

gauging stations miss.

We’ve begun naming creeks

that flood the dry draws,

pull nominees from our histories

while exchanging guffaws.

We have become the helpless

prisoners of the weather,

of flatland floods and saturated mud,

resisting cabin fever.

Roads and fences, trees to cut,

our work comes to a halt—

no need to fuss, cows don’t need us

with water, grass and salt.

Cleaning Culverts

Posted on March 12, 2023 by John | Leave a comment

With a break in the weather, we, with the help of our neighbors and their equipment, began addressing the plugged culverts that were spilling flood water across Dry Creek Rd. Though we had cleaned the debris from this culvert after the first Atmospheric River, it became impacted with sand with subsequent rains. Essentially, the culvert is too small for these kinds of events and with so many flooding issues in Tulare County, we are low on their priority list.

All in all, we cleaned out three culverts yesterday, two of which have needed attention for years. The weathermen have downgraded the amount of rain to expect in coming days, but on top of the 1,000 cfs already flowing down Dry Creek canyon, its impact rides with the intensity of those rains.

We’re ready as we can be and doing what we can without getting off the asphalt and getting stuck.

Damages Between Storms

Posted on March 11, 2023 by John | 7 comments

Another 1.58″ in the last 24 hrs., 2-day total 3.79″, forecast of 4+” through Wednesday, 3/15.

Both sets of brush catchers caught hell and will have to be replaced. Eroded far bank, widened channel.

2. Pipe fence we recently built to the creek acted like a brush catcher and is lying flat.

3 & 4. Culvert on Ridenhour Creek couldn’t handle the flow, wiped out fence and gate braces.

Lots of hillside sloughing on Dry Creek Rd, plugged culverts everywhere. Road closed. Greater damages to surrounding roads and small towns, Woodlake, Exeter, Elderwood.

We’re fine.