🌱 Crazy Storm Aftermath + Salmon Try To Spawn + More Water News

Well hello, Healdsburg! That was quite a weekend we just survived. Hope everyone made it through the worst of the storm okay. I'm here to get you started this Monday with everything you need to know about what's going on in town today. Here we go...

First, today's weather:

Cold and cloudy, with a possible morning thunderstorm and continuing showers. High: 60 Low: 47.

Here are the top 5 stories in Healdsburg today:

1. You know this already, but a doozy of a weather system hit Healdsburg over the weekend. After months of drought, local waterways are furiously burbling again. The Russian River is brown and churny and bursting at the seams. A few roadways temporarily turned into waterways yesterday, as well — including the intersection of Eastside Road and Old Redwood Highway at the south end of town, and Slusser Road a few miles south of that, where a car became fully submerged. "Please don’t drive through standing water!" the CHP warned, sharing a photo of the car. North Fitch Mountain Road was also closed due to downed trees and power lines. Looks like we've gotten more than 4 inches of rain in the past 24 hours. The Bennett Valley/Sonoma Valley area appeared to get the worst of the storm though, with evacuations and flooded apartment buildings and more. Our local firefighters from the North Sonoma County Fire District remind us that it could be worse: "This time two years ago we were doing this," the agency wrote online, alongside a video of them fighting the Kincade Fire. "Today we are thankful for the rain along with our Staff and Volunteers who are providing extra staffing for this storm." (Facebook & Facebook & Nextdoor & Sonoma County Gov & CA Dept. of Water Resources & Press Democrat; paywall)
2. So what does this mean for Healdsburg's water situation? The water line at Lake Mendocino, our main water source, appears to be rising a tiny bit for the first time in a long time. Another good sign is that for the next week, "state water officials have temporarily suspended emergency orders that prevented hundreds of ranchers, farmers, grape growers, cities and wholesale suppliers from drawing water from the Russian River," according to the Press Democrat. But after that, local leaders are warning everyone that the rest of winter may not continue like this, with little rain expected in the long-term forecast and an urgent need to keep conserving water. "As the western U.S. faces a potential third year of drought, it’s critical that Californians across the state redouble our efforts to save water in every way possible,” the governor said last week. (CA Dept. of Water Resources & CalMatters & Press Democrat; paywall)
3. And what does this mean for the "ailing" salmon and steelhead who spawn via the Russian River? The Healdsburg-based environmental group Russian Riverkeeper says they've been lingering in the Pacific near the mouth of the river, awaiting their fate this spawning season. In order to spawn, the "estuary" in Jenner needs to "breach" — aka, the river needs to hop the sandbar separating it from the ocean. Which it did on Sunday, thanks to the storm, according to Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins. But even with the estuary breach, environmentalists are concerned the fish won't make it very far when rains subside and river levels fall rapidly. A Russian Riverkeeper rep predicts that "spawning fish won’t get past the dam site at Healdsburg, and numerous riffles between pools in the river from Wohler Bridge to Alexander Valley have less than an inch of water flowing over gravel and are likely impassible." Read more about their uphill battle in the PD. (Facebook & Press Democrat; paywall)
4. More water news! Healdsburg finally approved its Urban Water Management Plan last week. It reportedly "includes a water shortage contingency plan to address dry years and a recommendation to later update the city’s three stage water shortage ordinance to a six-stage plan that would include restrictions on the issuance of temporary or final occupancy for new development within Healdsburg." The Trib has all the details. Meanwhile, our fair city recently attracted another admiring media report for cutting our water use in half this summer, this time from KQED public radio. An excerpt: "So, what’s in Healdsburg’s secret, water-saving sauce? The city capped household water use and banned sprinklers. And residents largely followed the rules." (SoCoNews Healdsburg & KQED)
5. A reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle also stopped by recently to investigate how Healdsburg turned from such a "sleepy country town" to a tourist destination full of "multimillion-dollar mega developments." The story features a cool interactive map and timeline of all the big hotel and restaurant developments that have moved in over the years, as well as interviews with locals about how it's affected them. Healdsburg resident Warren Watkins says the tourism growth has “led to a loss of moderate housing for locals, a loss of longtime families who were living and working here, and the loss of children in our schools,” adding: "Most of these visitors clog our streets but do not get involved in needed voluntary activities, or can’t serve in local political participation, all of which is diminishing the quality of life here." (San Francisco Chronicle)

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Today in Healdsburg:

• Spirit Week at Healdsburg Junior High School (Oct. 25-Oct.29, All Day)
• Botanical Art Exhibit Opening at Upstairs Art Gallery: "No Detail Too Small" (Oct. 25-Nov. 21, 11AM-6PM)
• Healdsburg Senior Center Round Table Pizza Party at Rec Park (5PM)
• Mindful Mondays Yoga for Teens at Sonoma County Library (4-5PM)
• Corazón Healdsburg Talleres Para Padres / Workshop for Parents at Healdsburg Community Center: Opciones Para Pagar la Universidad (6PM)
• Corazón Healdsburg Clases de Inglés Para Adultos / English Classes for Adults (6-8PM)

Healdsburg Patch Notebook

• Thanks to this storm, the "burn permit suspension" issued for Sonoma County during wildfire season has been lifted. Here are the new rules about what you can burn and when. (Facebook)
• Local fire officials are planning their own prescribed burn later this week in Healdsburg near Rio Lindo Academy along the river, just north of Fitch Mountain. It'll either happen Thursday or Friday. Click through for the burn map. (Facebook)
• With all these rains, the City of Healdsburg is asking you to please make sure stuff from your yard — including "leaves and other organic waste" — isn't getting into the street, where it can "clog storm drains, causing flooding and require emergency actions by City maintenance staff." (Facebook)
• County-maintained Russian River access points, including Healdsburg's Veterans Memorial Beach and Riverfront Park, will be closed until later this week due to the storms. (Facebook)
• The Healdsburg High School football team took a rough 0-42 loss at their final game last Friday at Rec Park against the Santa Rosa Panthers. It was the homecoming game. (Scorestream)
• The game capped off the HHS homecoming parade, which looked awesome. You can see pics of some of the floats here. (Facebook)
• As of yesterday, we now have to dial the "707" when calling local phone numbers, FYI! (Sacramento Bee via North Bay Business Journal)
• The Armstrong Woods redwood forest is expected to reopen to the public this Friday after more than a year of wildfire recovery work. It was closed in August 2020 after the Walbridge Fire tore through the mountains west of Healdsburg, burning "55,200 acres, including much of the beloved state park." (Press Democrat; paywall)
• Did you know you can check out a Chromebook laptop and wifi hotspot from the Healdsburg Library, just like you'd check out a book? (Facebook)
• Leilani Grinold, who used to own a toy store on the Healdsburg plaza, has passed away. Her obituary shows she had quite a life. (Legacy.com)
• Healdsburg Elementary is looking for board game donations, since kids have to stay inside for recess and lunch when it rains. (Facebook)
• And the Healdsburg animal shelter is looking for a variety of random materials — including pinecones, old T-shirts and cardboard boxes — to "help our campers create fun enrichment toys for our shelter animals." And cat caves! (Facebook & Nextdoor)
• A black-and-white cat was recently lost between Giorgi Park and the junior high. "We have been watching our friend’s cat for a bit and she escaped," a neighbor writes. "Please keep an eye out for this very very sweet girl. Her name is Luna." (Nextdoor)
• Another neighbor found a couple dogs running around on Dry Creek Road over the weekend. "We managed to get this one, the other was sprinting towards big johns and after multiple attempts we were unable to catch them," she writes. (Facebook)

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Alright, you're all caught up for today! See you tomorrow morning. If you're liking these newsletters, consider bringing some friends and neighbors into the fold. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Simone Wilson

About me: I was born and raised in Healdsburg, CA, where I was the editor of the Healdsburg High School Hound's Bark. I have since worked as a local journalist for publications in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York City and the Middle East. I'm currently a senior product manager for Patch.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Healdsburg Daily? Contact me at simone.wilson@patch.com.