Vicious rain storms in the bay area cause complications for students and staff

Ann Janes' property in Windsor surrounded by floods due to the overflooding of a nearby creek (Photo Courtesy ofAnn Janes)

By Maxine Salvador, Business manager

From hot and dry summers to wet and cold winters year after year, Sonoma County residents persevere through a whirlwind of weather complications. Roughly one week after the new year, much of Northern California experienced vigorous and heavy rain storms that fostered substantial damage such as enormous floods, fallen trees, and cut power; storms generated evacuation orders to roughly 100,000 residents all over California.

Although the City of Santa Rosa did not place evacuation orders or cancel instruction days for school districts, a number of Maria Carrillo High School staff and students faced difficulties as a result of the weather. Paloma Benedetti, MCHS senior, woke up to several effects of the storms on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 10 as she was getting ready to leave for school. She was shocked at this inconvenience as her driveway was completely blocked out by a large tree due to the wind and rain storms throughout the night. She said, “Oh my gosh, there’s a tree in our driveway and I need to get to school.” Because Benedetti was incapable of leaving her property, she missed her AP Literature class that morning. She has never experienced complications like this in the past due to storms, so she did not expect herself to be impacted in the way that she was.

Not only was Benedetti stranded in her driveway, but she added that “we had a little [flooding] on our driveway.” Fortunately, flooding was only a minor issue and did not cause any substantial damage or setbacks, as the real obstacle was making it past the fallen tree on her driveway. After a couple of hours, her dad managed to use a chainsaw to cut through the tree enough for her to get to school. “I’m glad it wasn’t on our house, so I was thankful," said Benedetti, looking back in relief. 

In addition to fallen trees as a result of the rain storms and large gusts of wind that passed through many parts of California, flooding was the main issue thousands faced. Ann Janes, MCHS Registrar, experienced complications with flooding around her home in Windsor. On Monday, Jan. 9, a nearby creek overflowed, resulting in a “lake” (as she often refers to it) that surrounded her property because of the tremendous amounts of rain, leaving her trapped inside her home. "I get landlocked with the flooding, so I can't get out,” said Janes. As a result, she was stranded on her property and incapable of attending work that day.

“I [was] mentally prepared,” Janes said, “but I worry because I have animals—goats and chickens—outside of my house and animals inside of my house.” Luckily, Janes and her family were able to work around this sudden event, considering that this is not the first time they have dealt with catastrophic weather conditions. She grew up in the Windsor area, and landslides and flooding occur from time to time. “When there's no rain it's a relief to me because everything kind of just settles,” Janes said, so seeing a decline in the weather’s storm patterns leaves her feeling calmer and at ease. 

While roughly 400,000 Californians lost power in early January due to the robust rain and weather leaving many in need of evacuation sites, both Benedetti and Janes were fortunate enough to be spared from several of the more detrimental effects from the storms.

Despite it all, Janes does not feel an ounce of regret living in Sonoma County and the various complications that strike California with the changing seasons. She feels deeply connected with her home environment and states, “I wouldn't change it for anything in the world.”