"Well, I hear it will be less of a storm than last month, but we weren't prepared for last month. Northwest Fresno had some sloped areas where the water almost came up to the house so we thought we'd be ready with these sandbags," said Mike Lavigna, Fresno resident.
In Clovis, volunteers were busy filling sandbags for those who want to be prepared.
"They've been here since about 6 o'clock. They've done about 1,500 bags. They've got another thousand they're filling up and we may bring them back tomorrow night to continue that assistance depending on what the weather brings forward," said Chad Fitzgerald, Clovis Fire Dept.
While a drop of rain had yet to fall, the volunteers like Ray Cole were glad to do their part.
"So, if there's a need to help some folks relieve some of the water with the rain we're supposed to get then we're gonna help out."
Along with the potential for flooding, the coming storm could also trigger power outages.
"Our expectation because there is going to be a series of storms is the wind on the first day may cause some problems with power outages with trees falling onto power lines and things like that. As the storms continue and the ground gets further saturated, the likelihood of outages actually increases because it doesn't take as much wind to knock those trees and limbs into power lines," said Jeff Smith, PG&E.
Everyone's being advised to keep flashlights ready in case the power goes out, and in case of flooding sandbags will be available Friday in Fresno and Clovis.
Reporter: "How are you going to feel if it doesn't rain?"
Ray Cole: "Good. I got a good workout for free so I'm gonna feel pretty good."
Sandbags are offered at the following locations:
Sanger Yard: 9525 E. Olive, Sanger (24 hours) Located on the south side of Olive, 3/10 mile west of McCall. (559) 252-1071
Del Rey Yard: 3633 S. Del Rey, Del Rey (8:00 – 4:30) (Del Rey between North & Central) (559) 875-6120
Reedley Yard: 17626 E. Manning, Reedley (8:00 – 4:30) Manning east of Lac Jac. (559) 638-3328
Biola Yard 12855 "G" St., Biola (24 hours) Located on the southeast corner of "G" St. and 2nd St. (559) 843-2474
Tranquility Yard: 25411 W. Silveira (24 hours) Located in Tranquility on west side of Denver & Lincoln. (559) 698-7278
Caruthers Yard: 2544 W. Mt. View, Caruthers (8:00 – 4:30) Located on the north side of Mt. View and Henderson (559) 864-3172
Firebaugh Yard: 38835 W. Nees, Firebaugh (8:00 – 4:30) Located at Douglas & Nees. (559) 659-2323
Coalinga Yard: 779 E. Polk, Coalinga (8:00 – 4:30) Located on Polk, east of School Rd. (559) 935-3034
Additional bags and sand are available for 24 hour access at Three Rocks next to the park and in Cantua Creek by the store/service station
