Major flooding in Mariposa County

MARIPOSA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Among the areas hardest hit by Thursday's storm was Mariposa County. Several inches of rain fell on the area, causing rivers to swell and closing down roads.

RELATED: Highway 140 closed due to flooding

Mariposa County Sheriff Doug Binneweis says his agency is taking every precaution possible as the storm moves across the area.

The emergency operations center was activated just a few hours ago as the county is bracing for several hours of this torrential rain.

Sheriff Binneweis says almost immediately after he got the call about the storm, he made calls to get employees and students home as quickly as possible.

He says the county's infrastructure is not built to handle the amount of water that is expected to fall.

Prior to this storm, the county has already seen landslides, bridges being impacted, and several areas of the county flooded.

Up to 5 inches of water is predicted in areas burned off by the Detwiler fire. Some of those areas are close to homes.

Sheriff Binneweis says he's not ruling out the possibility of having to evacuate some communities.

At this point, the Sheriff is asking people to stay off the roads if possible and stay away from the burn scars.