Douglas planning for a wet Christmas

Douglas County emergency services are preparing for what may be a wet Christmas week.

With snow and rain falling during the weekend and expected to continue through Thursday officials are planning for small stream and ditch flooding today.

East Fork Fire Capt. Terry Taylor said emergency personnel will be keeping an eye on areas in the Valley that are subject to flooding like homes along the river and streams.

"We expect to see some localized flooding of small streams over the weekend," Taylor said. "The rivers aren't expected to flood like they have in 1997."

Any river flooding could be Tuesday or Wednesday depending on what happens with the weather.

"The big issue we saw in the weather briefing is that Douglas and Carson are at the center of the storm," Taylor said. "If you look at the model, we're right in the middle and the storms are expected to stall and keep focusing moisture here. For Tuesday and Wednesday the model doesn't line up, so we don't know."

Taylor said one thing is certain: The temperatures are going to rise.

"The temperature is going to go up and some snow may be coming down the mountain as snowmelt," he said.

Taylor said residents should monitor the county's website to see where sandbags have been dropped off.

A series of wet Pacific storms started out with snow on Friday, which prompted several accidents in Indian Hills and Lake Tahoe.

Slick roads had drivers involved in about a half-dozen accidents between Mica Drive and Jacks Valley Road.

There were no reports of major injuries in any of the accidents.