Danville Storm Updates: Tree Falls, Front Street To Reopen Soon

DANVILLE, CA — As another atmospheric river led to Central Coast evacuations Monday, Danville and the Tri-Valley weathered a relatively calm storm.

“We did not have any significant incidents,” town spokesperson Jenn Starnes told Patch.

Starnes said the town is hoping to reopen Front Street at some point Monday, which closed Thursday from Diablo Road to Rose Street. She also reported that another tree fell down Monday around Diablo Road on unincorporated property.

373 customers in the area north of Stone Valley Road and east of Roundhill Road at the edge of Mt. Diablo State Park lost power Monday morning starting at 5:50 a.m., the largest outage in the Tri-Valley. By 4 p.m., power had been restored to the area.

Some potholes were also reportedly caused by the storm, Starnes said. The potholes will be repaired as soon as there is a break in the weather.

Though the storms are expected to decrease in intensity, a full break from rain is not expected until Jan. 19, though some sun is expected on Thursday and on Monday, Jan. 16. Danville remains under a Flood Watch and Wind Advisory until 4 p.m. Tuesday, when 0.47 inches of rain are expected to fall over 5.5 hours, and winds are expected to reach 28 mph. As of 4:15 p.m. Monday, the rain has subsided, and gusts have slowed to 5 mph.

As of 3 p.m. Monday, Danville logged a 24-hour rainfall total of 1.87 inches, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The town’s Local Emergency, declared last Tuesday, is set to expire Tuesday.

Danville students are also expected to return to school Tuesday after a two-week break. Other Tri-Valley districts that returned Monday said that their returns went smoothly, save for a few leaks repaired by maintenance crews. SRVUSD spokesperson Ilana Samuels said the district does not anticipate any closures.

“We will of course continue to keep a close watch on the situation,” she said. “Our SRVUSD Maintenance and Custodial teams have been working hard through all of these recent storms to ensure our schools buildings and property stay dry with no leaks.”

Sandbags remain available at the Town Maintenance Center on 1000 Sherburne Hills Road. Danville residents can pick up up to 20 sandbags. See here for more information.
Anyone in unincorporated Contra Costa County can pick up sandbags at any of six locations around the county.

The town has offered a number of safety tips on driving, downed power lines, fallen trees, and power outages here.

To report clogged storm drains, downed trees, or flooding, call Danville Maintenance at 925-314-3450 ( (M-Th 7:30 am–4:00 pm, Fri 7:30 am–1:00 pm). After hours, call the town’s non-emergency dispatch at 925-820-2144. Residents can also make reports online at www.danville.ca.gov/danvilleconnect.

Danville police will release public safety information through Nixle. To sign up, text your zip code to 888777. For more options, visit nixle.com.
Here are a number of local contacts:

• Danville Police: 925-820-2144
• San Ramon Police: 925-973-2779
• Contra Costa County Sheriff: 925-646-2441
• San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District: 925-838-6691

Other Resources:

• Contra Costa Animal Services: 925-335-8300
• East Bay Municipal Utilities District: 866-403-2683
• PG&E: 800-743-5000
• Flood Tips from FEMA: www.ready.gov/floods

President Joe Biden issued an emergency declaration Monday for California to support storm response and relief efforts in 16 counties including Napa, Sonoma, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Placer, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Mateo, Stanislaus and Ventura.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said 12 people died as a result of violent weather during the past 10 days, and he warned that this week’s storms could be even more dangerous. He urged people to stay home.

The first of the newest, heavier storms prompted the weather service to issue a flood watch for a large swath of Northern and Central California. Since Dec. 26, San Francisco received more than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain, while Mammoth Mountain, a popular ski area in the Eastern Sierra, got nearly 10 feet (3 meters) of snow, the National Weather Service reported.

The storms won’t be enough to officially end California’s ongoing drought, but they have helped. State Climatologist Michael Anderson said at a weekend news briefing that officials were closely monitoring Monday’s storm and another behind it and were keeping an eye on three other systems farther out in the Pacific.

Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said Californians can expect to see a break in the rain after Jan. 18.

"That is my best guess right now, which is good because it will give the rivers in Northern California, and now in Central California, a chance to come down," he said.

— Patch editor Maggie Fusek , The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this reportcontributed to this report.