Snowed In at the Lake House by Amberlee Day

'It looks like we might have missed kind of the worst of it,' said Robert Zagajeski, out walking his dog under a light rain.īut Governor Gavin Newsom warned Californians that they were not in the clear yet: 'We're not done,' he said Saturday after visiting impacted residents.

In Spreckels, a community a few hundred yards from the river, most residents opted not to evacuate despite warnings from authorities. Rescuers called off the search for five-year-old Kyle Doan, who was swept away in floodwaters as his mother tried to pull him to safety from their car, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's office said Saturday, citing rising waters and unsuitable conditions.Īn AFP journalist saw the Salinas River overflowing its banks in many spots, at times covering farm fields for hundreds of yards, as rain continued under leaden skies. The declaration makes federal funding available for relief to affected people, including temporary housing and repairs.Īt least 19 people are known to have died from storm-related causes in the last three weeks. Late Saturday, Biden 'declared that a major disaster exists in the State of California and ordered Federal aid to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides,' the White House said in a statement.

'I hope this isn't the new normal,' sighed Melissa Foley, pushing a wheelbarrow full of cleaning kits donated by the Red Cross, which she distributes to her neighbors. 'We had to get canoed out by a neighbor.'

It happened crazy fast,' the 23-year-old said. 'Within 10 minutes it had flooded completely to the ceiling.

Snowed In at the Lake House by Amberlee Day