Marin thrashed with rain, wind as potent storm hits

Jan. 16--A fierce winter storm unleashed slashing winds and rain throughout Marin on Wednesday, setting off a cascade of fallen trees, power outages and traffic problems.

Mudslides were reported on southbound Highway 101 near Spencer Avenue in Sausalito, northbound Highway 101 near the North San Pedro Road exit in San Rafael, and Sir Francis Drake Boulevard at Platform Bridge Road in West Marin.

The California Highway Patrol closed part of Lucas Valley Road on Wednesday afternoon after power lines fell and sparked two spot fires. Wind gusts hit 90 mph on the nearby Big Rock Ridge just before 5 p.m.

Scattered power outages were reported throughout the county as the storm began to hit in full force Wednesday afternoon. Those included an outage affecting nearly 4,600 customers in parts of southern San Rafael, Kentfield, Ross and Larkspur.

Outages also cut power to nearly 2,400 customers in Novato, about 2,300 customers in the Fairfax area and hundreds more in various parts of West Marin.

The Fairfax Town Council had just kicked off its monthly meeting Wednesday night when power went out in the meeting room, forcing officials to shut it down.

In Novato, police and firefighters were called to a fallen tree blocking a street in the area of Sunset Way and Cambridge Street, and another tree that fell on a residence on Wood Hollow Drive.

In the flood-prone Ross Valley, some residents and merchants braced for a potential overflow on San Anselmo Creek.

Michelle Penney, the manager at the Sidekicks clothing shop in downtown San Anselmo, said she arranged for sandbags over the weekend, before the sand got wet. Penney, who has worked for the store "on and off" for about 25 years, knows the drill.

"Three years ago we packed up this store nine times," she said. "(The floodwater) was up to my chest in 2000."

San Anselmo real estate broker Linda Gridley was bullish on her office not getting flooding on Wednesday.

"I'm not doing any storm prep this time," said Gridley, an agent with Coldwell Banker on San Anselmo Avenue. "We used to freak out. Now we're like, 'Eh.'"

"I don't want it to flood; therefore, it won't," she added. "I'm too busy."

The National Weather Service is expecting 2 to 4 inches of rain, and possibly more, for Marin through Thursday morning, said meteorologist Steve Anderson.

By 8 p.m. Wednesday, parts of Marin had already accumulated more than 2 inches of rain over the prior 24 hours, according to the weather service. The rainfall totals for that period included 2.8 inches in Novato; 2.5 in San Rafael; 2.3 in Point Reyes Station; 1.6 in Kentfield; and 1.2 in Mill Valley.

Massive waves are expected to slam the Bay Area's coast Thursday and wet weather is set to continue throughout the day. Waves as tall as 30 feet could hit the region's most exposed beaches, the weather service said. A high surf warning is in effect until Friday evening.

A 7.1-foot high tide Saturday morning will be the first in a series of "king tides" that are expected through early next week. Tides are set to hit 7.3 feet on Sunday and Monday mornings, flooding low-lying areas.

This story will be updated.

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