Crews preparing for next storm to hit Fresno County

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- More rain and snow are expected in the forecast Monday night through Wednesday, bringing a possibility of more flooding and rapid snowmelt.

Fresno County Public Works crews were busy at the County Yard in Sanger on Monday filling sandbags and super sacks.

The large white bags hold nearly 2,000 pounds of rock.

They'll be used to help block floodwaters that could come with the next storm - and over the next several weeks and months due to the melting of record snow levels in our mountains.

Fresno County Emergency Services Manager Terri Mejorado said there's no slowing down - even on dry days.

"We just have not let our foot off the pedal. We are constantly doing pre-planning, and advance planning. So today having sunshine really does not change our operation," Mejorado said.

Flooding is not the only concern. The saturated ground also increases the risk of trees toppling over.

"If you are starting to see roots exposed, where normally a tree is severely leaning, you want to make sure you don't have anything under there that you could crush," Mejorado said.

The City of Fresno had more than one thousand tree-related calls for service since the beginning of the year until now - nearly three times more than last year in the same period.

Public Works Assistant Director Brian Russell said, "We are really hoping that the time we've had to dry out really helps the stability of the trees, that we have less trees falling in this next storm."

Meanwhile, city crews are also dealing with other problems including filling potholes.

Plus, they're making sure their drainage system is ready to go and their pumps are maintained.

County officials remind you to be careful driving on roads through water.

"We can expect high flows coming down the damn well into June, and all that's going to do is continue to wreak havoc on our roads, our streams, our riverways," Mejorado said.

Officials said residents near flood-prone areas should sign up for emergency alerts and be vigilant about having items ready to evacuate in the event that water flows are high and cause flooding.