Posted on 01/01/2006 5:29:39 PM PST by blam
California vineyards flooded as torrential rain causes chaos
By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles
(Filed: 02/01/2006)
Northern California's famous wine country suffered widespread flooding yesterday after powerful storms pummelled the region.
Rivers overflowed their banks, engulfing homes and triggering mudslides that blocked roads across the area.
At least a dozen people were rescued from the rushing waters and, with more rain forecast, emergency officials urged residents in low-lying areas close to rivers to evacuate.
The heaviest rain hit the Napa Valley area, just north of San Francisco and home to more than 200 vineyards, including the Robert Mondavi Winery, Francis Ford Coppola's Niebaum-Coppola estate, Domaine Chandon and Beringer. More than nine inches fell.
In St Helena, the heart of the Napa Valley, the Napa River rose to record heights, peaking at nearly eight feet above its flood level.
The nearby Russian River was more than 10 feet higher than normal and predicted to rise to 13 feet, threatening the town of Guerneville, in Sonoma County.
In Napa, the swollen river sent water surging into the town centre, flooding an estimated 1,000 homes.
"We had so much water in such a short amount of time that manhole covers were popping all over the city," said James Krider, a city councillor.
Many vineyards along the river were affected but officials did not predict widespread losses as most growers had already harvested their grapes.
The flooding exceeded the previous recent major deluge in 1997 but not the devastating storm of 1986 that caused £60 million worth of damage and took three lives.
Across the north of the state, an average of five inches of rain fell. More was forecast yesterday, with the storms lasting until tomorrow.
In Sonoma County, helicopters plucked people from flooded areas to safety. Others were rescued by boat.
One man died on Saturday when he was crushed by a storm-battered eucalyptus tree. A woman in Santa Rosa suffered a broken leg when a mudslide destroyed her home.
Flooding and mudslides closed several major roads, including the famous Pacific Coast Highway, California's Route 1.
In Pasadena, west of Los Angeles, rains threatened today's New Year Rose Parade for the first time since 1955. The 116-year-old event features elaborate floats and draws thousands of spectators.
Along the coast, the storm churned up the sea, creating waves of up to 18ft waves and triggering a high surf warning.
Storm warnings were also issued in the Sierra Nevada mountains, where heavy snow was expected to cover mountain passes.
The weather caused mudslides that closed major interstate routes and left more than 600,000 homes along America's western coast without gas or electricity.
As of early on Sunday morning, more than 110,000 households remained without power.
In Nevada, Reno experienced its worst flooding since New Year's Day 1997.
Sunday's storm was expected to drop another 2in in northern California, up to 4in in southern California's coastal valley and 8in in the mountains, forecasters said.
"It's looking pretty powerful," said Bonnie Bartling, a regional weather specialist.
Maybe they have harvested, but how do vinyards do after flooding?
If the wineries use the same economics as the oil industry, then my favorite Napa Valley Moscato just tripled in price!
I'm pretty sure it's Bush's fault!
With that said, I hope all turns out well for the folks on the left coast.
Some native please help me out. All my life I pronounced the e in Guerneville, but all the news people leave it silent. Is it Gurneyville or Gurnville?
And, I'm sitting in Mobile with my AC on. Hmmmm
Guerneville (pronounced 'gurn-vill')
From: Guerniville-online.com
Guerneville-online.com...oops
Damn! Wrong all this time.
Harvest is August-October, depending on varietal and ripeness. The vines are dormant, and as long as the water is not swift and ripping them or the trellis system out of the ground, they'll do ok. Obviously, it is difficult to prune vines if they're under water.
People who know it pronouce it Groin-ville, as the place is filled with gays and other similar types.
The vines are dormant right now. Harvest was weeks ago.
Some local messes may require replanting, but mostly the vines will be fine. Flooding is a frequent occurence in that area.
Some houses and other buildings have been damaged or lost, though. Always sad to see.
If you're reading this, please stop using your weather machine to punish blue state areas./s
If they've been harvested, they're heading toward dormancy. Plus, the better vines are usually located on a slope -- above the flood plain and well-drained.
Probably no significant damage to the vines, themselves...unless they're submerged for over 36 hours.
At that, the vineyard owners will probably be working to get the fields drained and a.) any excess silt removed from around the roots and b.) any roots uncovered by erosion re-covered as soon as possible.
While some vineyards might experience severe damage, the situation overall could probably be characterized as minor damages to the viniculture. I'd be more concerned about serious damage to the wine production and storage facilities themselves, if they're located in the flood plain.
Has anybody heard how the Thunderbird Estate has come through the troubles?
I wouldn't worry about the vines. I would worry about big dried-out weeds next summer when wildfire season starts again. Those folks in the midwest are going to get a bunch of rain or snow in a day or two.
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