Rain requires repair crews in North Bay

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (KTVU) - Santa Rosa's fire scarred neighborhoods seem to have weathered the biggest storm of the season.
But residents say the rains did rattle some already frazzled nerves.

Ellen O'Connor's home survived the North Bay firestorm, but she was worried about Wednesday night's rain storm.

"In addition to recovery, now there’s a new disaster looming on the horizon with all this water," O'Connor said.

But unlike the fire, the rain caused only a few problems.

Repair crews are stabilizing a section of road on Dafford Place near the site of a sink hole that opened up following the overnight rains.

The firestorm had melted the storm drain pipe underneath the road, weakening it.

"Water, with the rain we had, continued to erode downhill where there once was a storm drain pipe. It undermined the particular portion," said Paul Lowenthal, Santa Rosa's Assistant Fire Marshal.

There are 28 miles of underground plastic storm drain pipe in Fountaingrove. Much of it melted and needs to be replaced.  

The city had prepared for a heavy storm overnight. The concern was that the fire scarred hills would begin to slide.

“There was hydro-mulching, gravel bags and waddels put up by storm drains and they were continually monitored by the hillside. We did really well," said Lowenthal. 

In Coffey Park, crews were dropping cameras into water pipes checking for any damage.
There were no major floods.

Despite the fear of rain related repercussions, the city said a heavier rainstorm last night would have been a better test for the city's winter readiness.

"You want to make sure the work we did is going to hold. We didn’t get the rain, which is good, but we're still going to have to see what happens in the winter months," said Lowenthal.

The recent rain should encourage vegetation to grow, and that should help control erosion.