As the relentless rains that have drenched Northern California this year gave way to sunshine Thursday, Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto could not relax. Instead, she recalled John Steinbeck’s description of the mercurial Salinas River whose rising waters threatened flooding that could turn the Monterey Peninsula into an island.

The famous local author wrote in his 1952 epic East of Eden that “sometimes it raged and boiled, bank full, and then it was a destroyer.”

“I think the public forgets,” Nieto said at a news briefing Thursday afternoon, “how dangerous the Salinas River can be.”

In the Bay Area, rain was expected overnight Thursday, but no more than one-tenth of an inch was expected in urban areas. Light rains are forecast to return Friday for the Monterey and San Francisco bay areas, delivering half and inch of rain to San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland, with up to an inch falling Saturday, and delivering snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

But in Monterey County, authorities and weather forecasters are concerned that a wave of water from storms earlier in the week is making its way down the Salinas River and up the Salinas Valley.

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office ordered evacuations for low-lying areas along the river in preparation of floods that could potentially close overland routes into the area, isolating residents and businesses.

Officials prepared for Highway 68, River Road, Reservation Road, Blanco Road, multiple secondary roads, and even Highway 1 to potentially close.

“There is a high probability that the Salinas River will flood all access points into the Monterey Peninsula at some point on Thursday… lasting through Sunday,” said a statement from Monterey County Supervisor Wendy Root Askew. “This means that anyone who is on the peninsula when flooding occurs will not be able to leave. Conversely, anyone who is not on the peninsula will not be able to enter.”

Monterey County last saw the Salinas River flood like that in 1995. In March of that year, river gauges at Spreckels, the community a few miles south of Salinas where the East of Eden movie was filmed in 1955, recorded a record level of 30.29 feet, said National Weather Service meteorologist Cindy Palmer.

Flood stage at Spreckels is 23 feet, and the river was projected to reach that level late Thursday night and crest Friday morning at 24.4 feet. That’s between its significant flood stage at 24 feet and moderate flood stage at 26 feet, Palmer said. Anything over 28 feet would be considered major flooding, she said.

But Monterey County officials stressed that a lot of factors need to be considered. Askew said at a news conference Thursday that high tides will play a role as the river flows down the watershed. And flooded areas along the route could spread out over farm fields and lessen the amount of water going down the river channel.

“We are basing this information on the best information we have at the time, and it changes daily and sometimes hourly because mother nature is fickle,” added Nieto.

By Thursday afternoon in Monterey County, there already were reports of flooding upriver in Chualar. Nieto said that the disaster will unfold sequentially, as the mass of river water makes its way downstream.

“This will not occur all at the same time,” Nieto said. “This is a slow moving event. The river crests at different times.”

Many residents along the river, especially those with children, already have heeded the evacuation order and left, said Danielle Parker, who lives in the Spreckels community. She and her husband moved their valuables to a friend’s place on higher ground in Salinas. But they and their Great Dane Harileigh weren’t leaving their Spreckels home, where the living quarters are raised above ground level to withstand flooding, with only the garage below exposed.

“We’re hunkering down,” said Parker, 35, whose home is about a mile from the river. “Everyone’s just kind of hanging out watching each others’ stuff for the friends and neighbors who left town.”

The die-hards staying put were planning a party at a community park in the afternoon, Parker said.

“Everyone’s bringing food and drinks, we’ll have music playing,” Parker said. “If it does flood as bad as it might, we’ll have some socialization before we’re all stuck in our houses.”

The nearby Monterey Zoo, and a bed and breakfast and a horse boarding stable were continuing their usual operations. Janine Garcia at the zoo said that “the potential for actually cresting to the point of impacting us is very unlikely — maybe the roads into or out of this area, but the zoo itself will not be impacted.”

Connections Boarding Stable owner Sheryl Fudge said that “if they close the access, we’re all prepared — we have plenty of food on hand, so we should be fine.”

The NWS predicted at least a chance of rain each day and night through Jan. 18, though heavy wind gusts seen in recent days may not materialize. Residents should still be wary, as heavily saturated soils could still leave a window of opportunity for strong gusts to bring trees down and cause damage.

The Bay Area was still assessing and cleaning up severe weather-related damage Thursday from earlier storms. A new sinkhole that opened around 3 a.m. Thursday forced the closure of Highway 92 in both directions from upper Highway 35 to Pilarcitos Creek Road.

At Monterey Bay Kayaks in Monterey, Adam Helm said it’s the slow season and they weren’t too worried about the drop in business. He said employees who work at the Monterey site could work at another location up the coast if road access is cut off.

“For what we’ve been through over the past few years with COVID, fires, this is pretty minimal,” Helm said.

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