WOODBRIDGE, Calif. —
Two very different scenes near Woodbridge paint a picture of the magnitude and impact recent storms are having in and around the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley regions.
A miles-long backup of vehicles could be seen beside the Woodbridge Road bridge overlooking Highway 99.
Some drivers were seemingly frustrated as they tried to cut around the line of traffic.
Portions of the highway were closed due to heavy flooding, making it impossible for any vehicles to roll through. Southbound lanes of Highway 99 reopened early Wednesday morning.
Caltrans officials closed multiple ramps between Turner Road in Lodi and Peltier Road in Acampo over the last few days as the flood expanded.
Just feet away on the highway, multiple maintenance crews raced back and forth wearing hard hats and rain gear as they tried to clear out water from the large pool that formed.
Two large pumps are pumping water out of the affected area, sending it southbound along the roadway through steel pipes to be redeposited into the Mokelumne River.
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It’s a difficult task, officials say, but it makes all the difference for the safety of drivers. Just on the end of a bridge, a semi-truck had tipped over on its side at a flooded corner.
Skip Allum, a spokesperson for Caltrans District 10, shared a warning for drivers.
“Know before you go. If you do see some flooded areas on the highways, roadways, turn around, don’t drown,” Allum said. “It’s very difficult to tell how deep that water is, standing water in standing locations.”
Allum says it’s too soon to tell if and how Wednesday’s oncoming rainfall will hinder cleanup efforts, but so far, some progress has been made.
Caltrans workers told KCRA that water levels on the highway are receding at roughly half an inch every two hours. Their early estimates are that it may reopen in a couple of days depending on conditions.
So far, no reopen date has been set, and drivers are being asked to stay clear of the area unless absolutely necessary.
Maintenance crews are to continue monitoring the water levels but are also tasked with vegetation work and clearing drains.
More rain is expected on Wednesday, and Allum says crews still have a lot of work ahead.
But drivers aren’t the only ones struggling with the impacts.
A lifeline
Neighbors laughed with Bruce Lemos on Tuesday as he hauled a large blue inflatable raft around his flooded yard.
Lemos and dozens of other Acampo Road residents found their homes surrounded by knee-deep water.
It’s his first time using the raft, which was originally bought for camping.
His mission with the raft now, he says, is to be prepared to jump into action in case water levels rise and help fellow neighbors in need.
“It got flooded really bad but, I got my raft here for my neighbors,” Lemos said. “This is the last hope. And for the worst-case scenario.”
Next door, his neighbor Saul Lopez treaded through the water that engulfed his property.
A thick layer of water extended from a field across the street to his front and back yards. Lopez could only describe the scene as a “lake.”
Garbage and plastic bottles from unknown locations had washed up onto their front yard and doorway.
Lopez said he and his wife are currently caring for an elderly relative inside the home. Although they are thankful no impact was seen inside their home other than not being able to use their bathroom, their biggest concern was for that relative.
“It’s just a nuisance,” Lopez said. “It can be a pain really, getting emergency services out here when they’re already short, going everywhere, especially the Woodbridge area.”
Just blocks away in the Woodbridge area, emergency crews evacuated residents from their flooded homes by the truckload.
Some said they’d been unable to leave their homes for days because of how deep the surrounding water is.
There to help were law enforcement, Office of Emergency Services teams, and even the San Joaquin Regional Transit District, which helped evacuate more than 60 people who were forced from their homes.
Some were taken to a nearby shelter while others described being low on funds because of the hotel stays they are paying for.
One mother pointed out a local school her child attends, which is now closed due to flooding.
Seeing sunken cars, large garbage bins floating at their doorstep, and treading in leg-deep water to retrieve what little belongings they had left was not the way most of these residents imagined their new year would be.
Residents are unsure what the near future holds for them. Still, many are trying to keep up their good spirits and say they are grateful to have others looking out for them.
“I hope that the people who are having it worse than us can get the help they need,” Lopez said.
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