‘Worst I’ve seen’: As river recedes, Guerneville assesses flood damage

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GUERNEVILLE -- Stranded amid a sea of river water, the town of Guerneville woke up to figure out just how bad the Russian River was to them this time.

Fife Creek Antiques on River Road? Flooded to the rain gutters. The historic River Theater downtown? Water over the stage. The Style Bar on Third Street? Up to the doorknobs.

After the worst flood in a quarter century hit here, some 3,000 homes and buildings -- including about 75 percent of downtown Guerneville -- are inundated. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Thursday, and roads leading into town were expected to remain closed until at least Friday.

"It's nerve-wracking. People are standing on the edge of the water waiting to see if their home is still there," said Jennifer Parnham, whose garage below her house already had flooded, and she feared her vacation rental nearby was underwater, too. "We deal with this every year, but in the 23 years I've been here, this is the worst I've seen it."

The locals dread not only the damage to their own homes and businesses but the exodus of newcomers that happens after every major flood.

"Not all of them are going to come back, so we go through a little recession every time this happens," Parham said. The old-timers, though, are a different breed. "They know how to roll. We're river rats."

On Wednesday, as the river crested 13.4 feet above flood stage at 45.4 feet and coursed through the first floors of many homes in Drake's Estates, many neighbors took out their kayaks and paddled to a high spot, lit a bonfire and toasted the relentless river.

"As soon as the water started rising, everybody had a beer," said Jaime Wilson, who joined the bonfire while water streamed toward her downstairs garage. "There's not much else we can do. So let's bring up our spirits and deal with the aftermath when it happens, try to stay optimistic and not freak out the kids."

The aftermath isn't pretty in her neighborhood, but it could be worse.

After the historic floods in 1986 and 1995, FEMA funds helped homeowners elevate their homes about 12 feet. Living areas remained on the second story, while the ground level was meant for vehicles and storage.

But many have been tempted to do more with their extra square footage and were regretting it Thursday.

"When my son started high school, he needed an extra room away from his siblings, so we put in flooring and insulated it and walls and all that," Wilson said.

By Thursday it was well underwater. The family spent Thursday hauling out muddy bedding and furniture to the front yard.

Most downtown businesses were left to the wiles of the river. And for Jerry Knight, who owns the historic River Theater, where Frank Sinatra, Count Basie and the Jerry Garcia Band once took the stage, it means starting over. Floodwaters poured over his stage, damaging equipment, memorabilia and the newly upholstered seating.

"It's a catastrophic loss," Knight said Thursday. Like many business owners, he couldn't afford flood insurance. It would have cost him $22,000 a year, he said.

Nonetheless, he said, "We're going to reopen. It's not a choice."

Just as he held a fundraising concert for a friend who lost her home in the Paradise fire, he hopes others will come to his aid.

Disaster has struck too many times in Sonoma County. In 2017, Santa Rosa experienced what -- at the time -- was the most destructive wildfire in California history until the Camp Fire in November wiped out the entire town of Paradise, displacing most of its 26,000 residents.

One of them, Jen Godfrey, had just relocated to Guerneville after her home near Paradise was damaged by the fire. Her rental in Guerneville was spared by the flood, but she still felt uneasy.

"I'm just feeling heavy because this is another form of disaster I'm looking at," she said. "I see people, their houses aren't burned down, but it's still so depressing and still so raw. I'm getting post traumatic stress with the helicopters."

For this county, officials fear disasters like these will become more common.

"In many ways we are ground zero for the impacts of climate change," Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins said Thursday. "When you look at the (computer) modeling in our area ... we are going to be experiencing more severe fire seasons and more severe weather."

After the record-breaking flood of 1986 and the floods that followed in the 1990s, "We have been known as the most expensive disaster area west of the Mississippi," she said. Much of that federal money went to elevate homes like Wilson's in Drake Estates.

Like many locals, Richard Lindsay hopped in his kayak on Thursday to survey the damage in town. After the floods in the 1990s, he worked in construction in town, elevating about 300 homes and a couple of businesses, pouring concrete slabs and framing pressure treated walls for new first stories.

When he finally bought his own place, "I knew where exactly to buy when it came to the flood. My house is up along the very top of the hill -- the water would have to reach 255 feet flood stage to reach my house."

Jenny Zapp and her husband, Branon, also were careful where they purchased a house. They were both raised in Guerneville and were 8 or 9 years old when their homes were destroyed by floodwaters. Like the majority of homes in town -- thanks in part to FEMA funds -- their house is elevated, with only the garage and storage supposed to be downstairs.

"We are not supposed to use it because of floods, and most insurance policies cover structural but not content," she said. But, she admits, "We can get comfortable and use that space and fill it with things -- and this happens."

Christmas decorations, their children's artwork and papers and her husband's plumbing tools all were covered in muck Thursday.

"You don't really realize how much stuff you have down there," she said. "It's a mess and smells bad."

She and Wilson, her neighbor, both enjoyed the bonfire when the river was cresting Wednesday.

"We love the river, and we all knew the situation when we moved here," Wilson said. "We were in good spirits, happy to be together. And we knew we would help each other when the water subsides."

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