Madera County residents feeling the strain of back-to-back storms
MADERA COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- People in Oakhurst and Coarsegold are feeling the strain of the back-to-back storms.
"I know we've been in a drought for like the last 30 years, but if this is an example of not being in a drought, that might make me wanna move," said Reyjon Keeton.
He has lived in Coarsegold with his wife and four kids for about five years. Keeton said it's common for water to flow over the roadway to his house, but this year has been overwhelming.
"It actually washed out this area here, and we couldn't even get out of our driveway even if it went down," said Keeton.
The flooding water is now starting to hurt his pockets. Keeton recently got estimates for repairing his eroding driveway. He said it's going to cost him five to six thousand dollars.
Meanwhile, a few miles away, Madera County Sheriff's Office issued an evacuation warning for the families that live on Mattie Fhy Road.
"During the last storm, a hillside became unstable and slid into a few residences as well as covered three roadways in that area," said Madera County Sheriff Tyson Pogue.
Crews tell us they cleaned up the area. As rain continues to fall on Tuesday, they are on standby in case of another mudslide.
Further up Highway 41 in Oakhurst, Bryant's Ace Hardware Store said they've filled up about 40 tanks of propane as of Tuesday afternoon.
"Maybe 20 years ago, we had something about half this, but it's just going on and on and on," said former Oakhurst resident Bill Di Fiore
He came to see his daughter and buy propane. He said he was using a generator at home until the unimaginable happened.
"A tree fell on it and smashed it, so we had no power for a week," said Di Fiore.
This video he shared with us shows the private company he hired to plow his driveway so he could get out of his home.
He said rain can be dangerous, but it can also be a blessing for residents like him. The rain is washing away the snow that was once trapping him in his house.
Di Fiore said the most important lesson these back-to-back storms have taught him is anything can happen.
It's always best to be prepared with food, water and supplies.
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