The levee water has mostly flooded, stranding vehicles in ice.
The weekend wallop is just about over, but the work week begins Monday as homeowners try to dig out and clean up.
In Fernley, Nevada, more than 3,500 people are attempting to dry out after as much as 8 feet of water flooded hundreds of homes.
Freezing temperatures hindered efforts Sunday, but weather may not be entirely to blame from the initial problem.
One canal official said rodents may be responsible for making the holes that ultimately caused the levee to rupture.
The majority of California can point the finger at the series of storms for headaches and tragedy.
In Chino, a man and his wife were swept away as they tried to cross a flooded road in their car. The man was rescued. The woman's body was recovered.
San Francisco is still rebounding from the lashing there on Friday. Hundreds of thousands of customers are still without power.
And in Foresthill, California, the storm left a mark on virtually every home. Harry Romero, Foresthill, says "We heard this big cracking because when roots let up out of the tree it's just a big cracking and then we looked out and it shook our house."
In the Sierra Nevada, snow paralyzed the area; bring traffic to a crawl and crippling places like Truckee.
