Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Tonto Arizona gathering 2017...

Yes, I made it home to Redding Thursday afternoon. I avoided the flooding on I-5 60 to 100 miles or so south of here by diverting to the east on Rt 99 through Chico. That put me closer to Oroville and the dam problems, and I did pass through the evacuation warning area, but I avoided the flooded areas further downstream that were caused by the high dam release flows.

Highway 99 was clear all the way with no slowdowns and lighter traffic than normal. I did see many flooded orchards, fields, and parks along the way, and it was just lightly raining off and on as I got through the area.

The rain started harder and steadier as I reached home, and continued all night. Our house is on higher ground and we are doing fine.

There are several roads closed around Redding in low areas, and along and near the Sacramento River because of flooding. Even the Sheriff's office is closed to the public because water is up to their front door. The staff is still working, coming and going through a back door. Our Sheriff Tom Bosenko is a great guy and a friend. He is a big 2nd Amendment supporter, so I hope his office doesn't get flooded. He has a nice display of antique handguns mounted on the wall behind his desk.

We got a break from the weather yesterday with some nice sunshine. It is cloudy today with the next big storm coming in tonight and continuing through Tuesday. By then our area will have exceeded DOUBLE of our normal expected annual rainfall for the season which runs from August to August, since we get almost no rain from May through September.

An old man once told me, "Almost all droughts end in a flood". I believe he was right.