A River Flood Warning is in effect for the Russian River near Hopland until this afternoon. The National Weather Service says the Russian will oscillate around its 15 foot flood stage with a maximum height of 15.6 expected around 8am which means likely flooding of Highway 175 near the Russian River Bridge. The gauge shows the river forecast to start falling around Noon but with another potential rise on Sunday. The current storm system is said to be bringing about three inches of rain into Sunday.
The CHP has confirmed that it was a Clearlake Oaks woman that died Tuesday morning after her car collided with a semi on Highway 53 south of Highway 20. Officials are not yet releasing her name saying only it was a 76-year-old woman who was killed in the 6:30am crash. Investigators say she was going southbound when she suddenly made a U-turn and went into the path of a semi that had been behind her. The truck driver was not hurt and stayed at the scene. The CHP says while the dark, rainy conditions were a factor, they are still investigating whether the woman might have been impaired.
Lake Mendocino will reportedly benefit from a new federal water law. California Congressman Jared Huffman says the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, which has passed the House and Senate and is waiting for the President’s signature, has features to improve wastewater, stormwater and flood control infrastructure. The Ukiah Daily Journal reports it includes expediting feasibility studies for flood control and conservation at Coyote Valley Dam and increases use of the Forecasted-Informed Reservoir Operations or FIRO which helps the Army Corps of Engineers better balance flood risk reduction against storage for drought-prone areas. Huffman has previously called Lake Mendocino a “focal point” in research and development for FIRO.
A Redwood Valley native is about to become the youngest member of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors. 27-year-old Madeline Cline is Supervisor-elect for the 1st District. She tells the Mendocino Voice she has already spent most of her life in public service, from 4-H as a kid to her Political Science major at Sonoma State to her current job as a public policy consultant for businesses and farmers in Mendocino County and as a representative on the Mendocino County Fish & Game Commission. She tells the news site she wants to help expand the conversation at Supervisor meetings to “include voices from all generations” and demographics. Cline will be sworn in on January 7.
