STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
First, Northern California faced fires. Now Sonoma County, Calif., faces catastrophic floods. Molly Peterson of KQED reports along a river that is far above flood stage.
MOLLY PETERSON, BYLINE: Along the Russian River, rare but serious flooding has long been considered part of the fair price for living in beauty. At least, Steve Backman thinks so. He's the volunteer fire chief in the riverside community of Monte Rio, saving lives here for just under 50 years. This flood isn't even the worst he's seen.
STEVE BAXMAN: My worst was twice in a week. Yeah. In 1982, we had two in one week.
PETERSON: It's been almost a quarter-century since the last time it was this bad. Even worse floods happened in the '50s and '60s. But this storm was fast and heavy. It soaked towns with as much as 20 inches in three days. A couple of nights ago, a crew from the utility PG&E got trapped nearby. They had to sleep in their truck. Baxman says restoring power can be the hardest part.
BAXMAN: So we have the National Guard with these high-water trucks, and they take us into the spots and see if we can do anything. But with the power lines down, we can't do a thing till PG&E gets here. They can't get in themselves.
PETERSON: County crews scoop up mud and clear roads, but heavy hillsides slump into new closures almost as fast.
BAXMAN: Our world is getting smaller.
PETERSON: Folks who didn't evacuate still find ways to get around. Experienced locals spin up sprays of dirty water as they steer past closure signs and mudslides. Near a bridge crossing the river, longtime resident Darryl Cooper yanks his old truck out of flood and mud. Then he drops a boat into water. He's on a mission.
DARRYL COOPER: I'm going to deliver two packs of smokes to my friend who's on an island right now, in his house, and I've got canoes. We're going to canoe down River Boulevard.
PETERSON: The river is receding already. By Friday, its banks will be revealed again, says volunteer fire chief Baxman.
BAXMAN: The only surprise is going to be, once the water gets down, what's going to be left.
PETERSON: He and others in Sonoma County say they're kind of looking forward to a weekend of cleaning up and mucking out. For NPR News, I'm Molly Peterson. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.