Flood forces 1,500 from homes

Eric Flodman stood in front of his Camille Drive home assessing the situation. Water covered his yard and topped his home's foundation, but the house was safe so far.

He said he first learned of the flooding when his neighbor, Tim Tyree, came banging on front doors around 5:30 a.m. Flodman said the flooding was at its worst around 7 a.m., and had receded 2-3 inches by 9:30 a.m.

Such was the scene all over Fernley on Saturday as approximately 1,500 people were evacuated after the Truckee Canal was breached in the early morning hours, sending torrents of water flooding into multiple subdivisions.

The city of Fernley issued a flood update Saturday night stating 800 homes in the Green Valley, Tuscany Villa, Aspen Meadows, Shady Grove and Farm Lane areas were flooded. Sections of Farm District Road, Jenny's Lane, Ricci Lane and Crimson Road will remain closed due to high water.

Flodman's girlfriend, property manager Kelly Cardin, was fielding phone calls from people all over the country Saturday morning - after watching the flooding on national news they all wanted to know if their investment properties in Fernley were safe or not.

As Flodman and Cardin milled around in the street with nearby residents, they watched as their next door neighbors packed up their SUV and headed out.

The earthen Truckee Canal broke at 4:19 a.m. at a spot south of Cottonwood Lane. The gaping hole in the canal was visible Saturday from across a field on Cottonwood Lane, where Red Hawk Drive meets Cottonwood.

The Truckee Canal is part of the Newlands Irrigation Project that provides surface water for Fernley and Fallon area farmers through water diversions from the Truckee River to Lake Lahontan. The Truckee Canal, which passes through Fernley, carries the diverted water more than 30 miles from Derby Dam on the Truckee River to Lake Lahontan.

Dave Overvold, project manager with the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District, said the Gillpin Spill on the Truckee Canal was opened at 5:15 a.m. to dump water back into the Truckee River. The check structure between the spill and the city also was closed to prevent any more water from entering the canal. The TC-2 auxiliary ditch off the Truckee Canal was opened in an effort to drain water from the canal. The break was about 100 feet long and 20 feet high, he said.

He speculated a gopher hole could have damaged the wall of the canal, or the earth became so saturated with Friday's storm that it broke.

For the residents, it came down to those who could get out - did. Those not yet touched by the flood waters waited.

Mike McKnight and his daughters stood patiently on Jenny's Way watching the scene from the front yard. McKnight was caring for his vacationing friend's home and headed to the house to evacuate the horses.

As he watched four-wheel-drive vehicles deliver rescue boats further down Jenny's Lane, he kept an eye on the two horses tied to the horse trailer. The horses snorted and danced nervously as the helicopter circled overhead then hovered over homes half mile away. He had already taken five horses to a friend's ranch further east on Farm District Road.

Neighborhoods southwest of Farm District Road on off Crimson Road, Ricci Lane and Green Valley Drive were hit hard by the rushing water. The water continued is path northeast and crossed Farm District Road and reached as far as Winnie Lane to the east.

The American Red Cross was staged at an evacuation center established at Fernley High School.

Edrie Lavoie, director of the Lyon County Human Services, said there were just as many volunteers as evacuees on Saturday - but she was grateful. Lavoie said all the donations in the hallway were from Fernley residents who rushed to provide whatever they could for their neighbors.

Maureen Tabata and two of her neighbors sat warming under Red Cross blankets in the high school's cafeteria.

Tabata said she learned of the flooding just by looking out her window. She had hoped to see snow Saturday morning. Instead, she saw the street lights reflecting in 3 feet of water in her front yard.

"We did our best to block the water, but it came rushing in through the doors and garage," Tabata told the Associated Press. "The force of the water knocked over the TV. All of our furniture, carpet - everything is destroyed. It's just unbelievable."

Tabata said she heard reports of water rushing through the Green Valley Drive neighborhood so hard it ripped appliances from their homes and pushed them into the streets.

Tabata's husband, who refused to give his first name, said he was upset because there was no alert system in place. He said the only notice he heard was a city employee running down his street yelling for residents to evacuate.

Mr. Tabata also is upset that his home did not have flood insurance. He said before he purchased his home, he checked the FEMA maps and saw he was not in the listed floodplain, therefore he did not purchase flood insurance.

"We did everything we were supposed to," he said in disgust.

Barbara Smith was awakened early Saturday by strange lights in her bedroom - the street light reflecting off water on her Coldwater Way home. She said the water came just a few inches into her home, enough to ruin all the flooring.

A Huey Search and Rescue helicopter from Naval Air Station Fallon was dispatched at 6:45 a.m. to rescue residents unable to leave their homes.

Zip Upham, public affairs officer with NAS Fallon, said 18 people were rescued from stranded positions and taken to the fire station on Main Street. A fleet of school buses were staged at the North Lyon County Fire Protection District's Main Street station to take residents to the high school.

The massive effort by air and sea coordinated more than 200 emergency personnel, including bus drivers from the Lyon County School District, dispatched to shuttle marooned families to the nearby triage shelter.

"The way I see it, this is part of the job," said Cynthia Ashe, a driver for the school district as she exited the cab of her yellow bus just after 10 a.m. Saturday. "I would've been here sooner, but I had to chain up."

The helicopter circled the neighborhoods west of Jenny's Lane on Saturday morning while residents and ground crews used boats to rescue stranded residents.

The Nevada National Guard had two helicopters flying Saturday - one Black Hawk carried Gov. Jim Gibbons for an aerial tour of the affected areas while an OH-58 Kiowa performed an aerial video observation.

April Conway, state public affairs officer for the Nevada National Guard, said the guard is standing by if requested for additional aid.

• Nevada Appeal reporter Andrew Pridgen and The Associated Press contributed to this article.