Tk L
Fo
!'~ 8h, Q
r.
L
t
190.91
Iendota feels nosh
f creek's waters
Soil berms protect town
from overflowing
feet per second -enough flow
in
one
to
use
day
for
a
for 10,
000 families
year.
Panoche Creek.
The
Mark Grossi
Fresno Bee
ENDOTA -Farmer BobSano watched Panoche
ek's muddy water rumble
sday over Fairfax Avenue
and Mendota, tossing pieces
smashed almond trees at
poles.
t'
s incredible,"said Sano,
I rode a motorcycle down
dry creek bed last summer.
rer
look at it."
he shallow creek bed
water
came
from
a
300,
acre
000- watershed in the
v
was
Panoche Hills west of Mendota.
Reports indicated rainfall Tuesday morning left more than 3.0
inches in some areas.
The water funneled into Panoche Creek and rushed into
the San Joaquin Valley, scouring channel banks, taking some
trees and crossing the landscape wherever its path took it.
But it slowed before it reached
Mendota.
coming
protected by winter storms.
ate Department of TransportsThe water can get more than a
n crews who built small soil
foot deep as it goes past the high
rms Tuesday to prevent the school toward
New levees along the neighHighway 180, and
iw from coming into residential
school buses often ferry students boring farmlands kept the flow
the highway.
eas. The flow was not as big as onto
campus. School was not in- in ditches along
was in
1995 when Mendota
The water eventually overflowed
terrupted Tuesday.
the
Beets filled with water, causing
Down the street, at the corner the ditches and spilled onto
despread damage.
of Highway 180 and Belmont Av- highway.
By midday, the water flow had
No injuries, damage or evacua- enue, the water was several feet
resident said he
group of residents peaked, but one
ins were reported in Tuesday's deep. A
ve- didn't think the flooding danger
a
as
fourdrive
w
heelcheered
ggy scenario, which has been
noon- was gone.
peated often in Mendota's his- hicle forged a successful
water
with
I'
ve been here 33 years,"said
time
coming
crossing
ry. But, as in the past, there
Creek
The
town
waa
ultimately
runs
during big created muddy
waves
and going through 5 or 6 inches
of water on the highway just outside Mendota.
The Fresno Bee
retired
resident Ed Petry, 69,
3s a major, muddy inconve- up to its hood.
who for millions of Southern Califorhe
contractor
said
Abraham
construction
12,
Gonzalez,
who
have
ence to Mendotans
The
nia residents.
issues.
"
wawater
studies Valley
own accustomed to the winter saw a van stall in the deep
if the
a tractor towed the water could start up again
He
said
ter.
ods.
Upstream of the aqueduct, the
rain starts up in the Panoche creek ran over North Avenue,
v
I'
ve been living here all my
The water was just too deep,"drainage area."
completely severing the road
e, and this happens over and Abraham said. "It
into the
State Department of Water near the Panoche Ginning Co.
got
„
per,"said Jesse Lopez, 36. "I e
Resources officials were taking
n't know why they built a high
The water normally goes
water also sloshed onto no chances. Engineers monitored
Storm
hoof right in the middle of it."
that road,"
as it crossed a through a pipe under
Creek
Panoche
on
Highway
many cars Tuesday
to believe
hard
I
t'
s
said.
"
California
Petry
the
School
is
on
of
Mendota High
i Rn whore the water ran after it
submerged part
there's even a road there."
a
190.91
Mark Crosse T
- he Fresno
What to do?
Mendota resident Ed Petry gestures
Tuesday to
some
friends stuck
on
the other side of
a
flooding
Panoche Creek.