The radio鈥檚 smooth jazz playing inside the Silver Fork gas station on Highway 50 belied the inclement weather outside.
鈥淵ou just look at the river and it鈥檚 ashy, black water, but surging,鈥� said Amy Cutrer, who works at the station in the Sierra Nevada foothill town of Kyburz.
The area saw nearly 10 inches of rain between the weekend and into Monday, to the National Weather Service. Not far up the road, the rain turned to heavy snow.
About two months ago, emergency officials were evacuating this same area鈥檚 residents 鈥� including Cutrer and her husband 鈥� as the blazed along the Highway 50 corridor. Vegetation was brittle and dry; rivers were little more than a trickle.
The precipitation is desperately needed to combat . But it comes with a trade-off in communities that endured wildfires. Heavy rain and snowfall means an increased chance of mudslides, rockslides and flash-flooding.
And climate scientists say are expected in the future, due to human-caused climate change.
Cutrer only recently returned after evacuating during the Caldor Fire. She and her husband stayed at a friend鈥檚 house for about a month. They caught wind of the incoming storm system while unpacking their belongings back home.
鈥淲e all kind of anticipated mudslides, rockslides,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd there were all kinds of warnings popping up on my phone throughout the night, like be prepared to evacuate.鈥�
Fortunately, those threats largely didn鈥檛 materialize. A rockslide on Highway 50 near Echo Summit shut down the roadway, but only for a short period of time.
Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, CapRadio that the dry conditions helped absorb much of the precipitation, reducing the risk of landslides.
While the storm brought record levels of rain in some areas, climate experts say more is needed in California.
鈥淭his is just a blip in terms of recovering from a major drought that we鈥檝e been in,鈥� said Craig Clements, professor of meteorology and climate science at San Jose State University. 鈥淲e need to build up the snowpack, because that really helps us to fill the reservoirs.鈥�
Cal Fire says this major storm system doesn鈥檛 end the fire season, either.
鈥淚t helps, but if it continues to be dry going forward, we鈥檙e going to be right back where we were...ready to burn at a moment鈥檚 notice,鈥� said Issac Sanchez, Cal Fire battalion chief of communications
Sanchez notes that much of Southern California has seen very little precipitation.
Bryce Lovell, a Pollock Pines resident who evacuated for three weeks during the Caldor Fire, acknowledged the increased risks posed by these extreme weather events. But he said living in the Sierra Nevada has always demanded resilience.
鈥淭he power goes out, you can cook on your wood stove 鈥� you鈥檝e got fuel, you鈥檝e got canned goods,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just about making sure you鈥檙e prepared.鈥�
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