Floodwaters isolate pair of California towns

GUERNEVILLE, Calif. -- Two communities in Northern California's wine country were accessible only by boat Wednesday after a rain-swollen river overflowed its banks following a relentless downpour across an already waterlogged region.

The small city of Guerneville north of San Francisco "is officially an island," with the overflowing Russian River forecast to hit its highest level in about 25 years, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

"Nobody is coming or going from the Guerneville area at this time," said sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Crum. The nearby town of Monte Rio was also isolated by floodwaters and all roads leading to it were swamped.

The still rising Russian River was engorged by days of rain from western U.S. storms dumping heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada, throughout the Pacific Northwest and into Montana, where Gov. Steve Bullock signed an emergency order to help keep up the supply of heating fuel amid frigid temperatures.

Snow from the storms closed roads and schools and toppled trucks and trees from Oregon to Montana, and an avalanche in the Sierra prompted Amtrak to suspend rail service between Sacramento and Reno, Nevada.

The Russian River topped 42 feet Wednesday afternoon, when television helicopter footage showed homes underwater and cars submerged. It could crest at more than 46 feet overnight, officials said.

Jeff Bridges, co-owner of the R3 Hotel in Guerneville, said he and others who stayed behind were well prepared to ride out the storm. He and employees spent most of the night moving computers, business records and furniture to second-floor room. Reached by telephone, Bridges said there was about 7 feet of water at his two-story home in Guerneville Wednesday but was not worried.

"As long as everybody is safe, dry and warm, it's all fine. You just ride it out," said Bridges, noting this flood was the fourth he's experienced in 33 years.

He added: "People in Florida have hurricanes, people in Maine have blizzards; we have floods," he said. "It's the price we have to pay to live in paradise."

Several areas in California set record-high rainfall totals, including nearby Santa Rosa, which had nearly 8 inches of rain in one day. The often-waterlogged Venado weather station 5 miles from Guerneville recorded more than 20 inches of rain in 48 hours.