End-of-Year-Soak

Happy soggy New Year.

Another winter storm is expected to hit Northern California today, but forecasters say it won't be as furious as the once-in-a-decade storm that slammed the region on Saturday, causing widespread flooding and mudslides throughout the state's famed Wine Country.

The storm dumped more than nine inches of rain on Napa County's Mount Veeder, shut down country roads and highways, interrupted power to about 120,000 Bay Area residents and produced the worst flooding Reno has seen in years.

Officials urged hundreds of North Bay residents to voluntarily evacuate their homes along the Russian and Napa rivers, although there were no estimates Saturday of how many chose to leave. In Sonoma County, the lower Russian River was expected to rise as high as 13 feet above flood stage early today as it menaced the resort town of Guerneville. To the east, the Napa River overflowed its banks with the highest water levels in its history, flooding businesses and homes in downtown Napa.

In what was believed to be the first storm-related fatality, an unidentified man walking in the area of Beeland Park in Vacaville was killed when a tree fell on him Saturday afternoon. Police were not releasing further details, including the man's name, Saturday night.

The Bay Area's southern regions escaped the brunt of Friday and Saturday's deluge, but today's storm is expected to target the South Bay and Monterey regions, forecasters say.

On Saturday in the North Bay, emergency workers pulled stranded drivers from cars and rescued two people from a Sonoma-area mobile home park, where four feet of rushing water pushed at least one home off its foundation. One woman suffered a broken leg when a mudslide destroyed her home in Santa Rosa late Friday.

The town of Napa experienced its worst flooding since 1986, with residents calling for emergency evacuations from an estimated 1,000 homes.

``There's mud everywhere. A lot of the businesses and homes are ruined,'' said Cheri Cartwright, a saleswoman at the Napa Valley Emporium gift store in downtown Napa. ``I just cried when I saw it.''

Water from Napa Creek, which winds through downtown Napa, lapped the doorways of elegant shops and popped manhole covers from the street. Water buried local vineyards, their grapevines dormant for the winter. And water -- 4 1/2 feet of it -- blanketed downtown San Anselmo, flooding more than 70 businesses. Two people rescued from the rising water there were hospitalized with hypothermia, said town administrator Debbie Stutsman.

``I'm looking out of my office now at merchants bringing their damaged goods out into the street,'' Stutsman said.

In Sacramento, crews early Saturday jettisoned 20 of 48 massive wooden gates, allowing the swollen Sacramento River to flow into a bypass around downtown in one of the nation's most flood-prone cities.

In California and Nevada, New Year's Eve celebrations were dampened -- or called off altogether. Reno postponed its annual downtown New Year's Eve fireworks show until 8 p.m. today.

In St. Helena, an answering machine at the Greystone restaurant at the Culinary Institute of America informed callers that it would be closed Saturday because of extensive flooding in the area.

In Guerneville, guests at the Applewood Inn and Restaurant would not be feasting on terrine of Sonoma foie gras with balsamic fig chutney: Owner Darryl Notter sent them and his employees home Saturday morning and canceled his New Year's Eve dinners.

``We're way above flood level, but people can't get in or out,'' Notter said, noting that the inn had been fully booked. ``We're going to lose about $15,000.''

Meanwhile, Notter's partner, Jim Caron, helped owners of other Russian River resorts shift furnishings and equipment out of harm's way.

In nearby Rio Nido, Jack Brady decided against going to a New Year's party and holed up with partner Chris Auzston in their two-story townhome. Flooding was just a block away, and they had moved their truck uphill. They did not plan to evacuate.

``We're trying to tough it out,'' Brady said. ``Hopefully, it won't get too bad. We're hoping we just don't get that much more rain.''

Elsewhere, mudslides closed several major roads, including Interstate 80 in the Sierra Nevada about 25 miles west of Reno.

Interstate 80, the major corridor linking Northern California and points east, is expected to remain closed for at least two days, said California Department of Transportation spokesman Mark Dinger.

I-80 westbound near Fairfield, about 45 miles outside San Francisco, sat under four feet of water and was shut down.

``It's a mess, everything's a mess,'' said officer Darren Carrington of the California Highway Patrol.

In Palo Alto, some residents received an automated call from the city on Saturday morning, warning them about potential flooding and suggesting they evacuate. Persistent rain had filled San Francisquito Creek to the top of the Chaucer Street bridge. By mid-morning, storm drains were backed up near the bridge, and pedestrians and cars were navigating through huge puddles of mucky water. But the water receded later in the day, and a shelter at Cubberly Community Center, staffed by the Palo Alto Area Red Cross Chapter, found no takers.

Still, some residents remained nervous.

``There will be another high tide tomorrow, and they're predicting another storm,'' Menlo Park resident Ron Garcia said. ``That's a bad combination.''

Saturday's storm packed such a wallop because it stalled over California's coast and carried a lot of moisture from a weather system above Indonesia, said Brooke Bingaman, a forecaster for the National Weather Service. Rainfall measured one to five inches in much of the Bay Area. Today's storm, anticipated in the afternoon or evening, is weaker, but it's expected to target the South Bay and Monterey areas.

This storm is not expected to cause major flooding because it will be chillier, causing less precipitation to hit the ground, said Michael Miller, a spokesman for the California Department of Water Resources.

Still, there's more to come: while forecasters predict dry weather midweek, another storm is expected Thursday or Friday.