Residents are salvaging what they can and cleaning up after floodwaters receded from the Colusa County town of Maxwell.
Assistant Sheriff Jim Sasso said crews have been busy clearing debris from drainage channels,
“We’re actually in very good shape today,” he said.
That’s quite a difference from the weekend, when waters quickly rose, and images of the inundated town made national news.
Nearby highways, including segments of Interstate 5, vanished beneath muddy floodwaters. A 150-foot segment of railroad bed washed away near Willows, leaving tracks and ties dangling in the air.
Water poured into the valley as nearly full reservoirs increase releases and rain continues. Sasso said he thought much of the water that menaced Maxwell originated in the Mendocino range, but he couldn’t be sure.
“Frankly we had four inches of water in 24 hours, and the ground has already been saturated, there’s just not a lot of places for the water to go,” he said.