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Nasty Storms Still Snarling West

Nevada levee breaks; about 440K still without power

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 5, 2008 12:31 PM CST

(Newser) – A levee broke east of Reno today, flooding hundreds of homes and leaving roughly 3,500 stranded as winter storms continue to batter the West Coast, the AP reports. Water was 3 to 4 feet deep in the desert town of Fernley, Nev., after the levee failure, while in the Sierra Nevada, up to 44 inches of snow had fallen. About 440,000 are still without power, down from 1.5 million yesterday.

The levee broke along the Truckee Canal in Fernley, sending frigid water rushing into town. No injuries have been reported. In Southern California, meanwhile, thousands have been told to evacuate ahead of feared mudslides, but so far few seem to have obeyed. In the Sierra Nevada, the Red Cross set up two shelters for stranded motorists; one meteorologist predicted “hazardous, if not impossible” road conditions.

A surfer rides a wave churned by a winter storm underneath the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge Friday, Jan. 4, 2008, in the San Francisco Bay.  A fierce arctic storm pounded California on Friday, threatening to soak mudslide-prone canyons already charred by wildfires and to paralyze the mountains...
A surfer rides a wave churned by a winter storm underneath the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge Friday, Jan. 4, 2008, in the San Francisco Bay. A fierce arctic storm pounded California on Friday,...   (Associated Press)
Motorists sit in gridlocked traffic during a rain storm which flooded Northbound US Highway 101 Friday, Jan. 4, 2008, in Cortemadera, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Motorists sit in gridlocked traffic during a rain storm which flooded Northbound US Highway 101 Friday, Jan. 4, 2008, in Cortemadera, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)   (Associated Press)
A severe winter storm approaching the Sierra Nevada and the Lake Tahoe Basin causes delays at the base of US 50 in Meyers, Calif,. on Friday, January, 4, 2008.  A fierce arctic storm pounded California on Friday, threatening to soak mudslide-prone canyons already charred by wildfires and to paralyze the...
A severe winter storm approaching the Sierra Nevada and the Lake Tahoe Basin causes delays at the base of US 50 in Meyers, Calif,. on Friday, January, 4, 2008. A fierce arctic storm pounded California...   (Associated Press)
Motorists drive through a rain-soaked highway 280 in Daly City, Calif.,  Friday, Jan. 4, 2008. A fierce arctic storm pounded California on Friday, threatening to soak mudslide-prone canyons already charred by wildfires and to paralyze the mountains with deep snow.(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Motorists drive through a rain-soaked highway 280 in Daly City, Calif., Friday, Jan. 4, 2008. A fierce arctic storm pounded California on Friday, threatening to soak mudslide-prone canyons already charred...   (Associated Press)
A woman stranded in traffic walks her dog during a rain storm Friday, Jan. 4, 2008, on US Highway 101 in Cortemadera, Calif. Power already was knocked out to hundreds of thousands of residents, and the California Highway Patrol encouraged drivers to stay off the roads. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
A woman stranded in traffic walks her dog during a rain storm Friday, Jan. 4, 2008, on US Highway 101 in Cortemadera, Calif. Power already was knocked out to hundreds of thousands of residents, and the...   (Associated Press)
A firefighter cuts branches from a fallen tree brought down by a storm in front of a Bank of America branch in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 4, 2008. A fierce arctic storm pounded California on Friday, threatening to soak mudslide-prone canyons already charred by wildfires and to paralyze the mountains...
A firefighter cuts branches from a fallen tree brought down by a storm in front of a Bank of America branch in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 4, 2008. A fierce arctic storm pounded California on Friday,...   (Associated Press)
Richard Garcia makes his way through debris left after a large tree fell on his house early this morning being up-rooted by heavy rain and high winds in Roseville, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 4, 2008. A fierce arctic storm pounded California on Friday, threatening to soak mudslide-prone canyons already charred...
Richard Garcia makes his way through debris left after a large tree fell on his house early this morning being up-rooted by heavy rain and high winds in Roseville, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 4, 2008. A fierce...   (Associated Press)
A visitors takes a picture of the Golden Gate bridge as rain comes down on him in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 4, 2008. A fierce arctic storm pounded California on Friday, threatening to soak mudslide-prone canyons already charred by wildfires and to paralyze the mountains with deep snow.(AP Photo/Marcio...
A visitors takes a picture of the Golden Gate bridge as rain comes down on him in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 4, 2008. A fierce arctic storm pounded California on Friday, threatening to soak mudslide-prone...   (Associated Press)
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