HONOLULU (AP) — Alicia Humiston bought her condo in Lahaina after she visited Maui and fell for its rainforests, lava fields and the whales that gather offshore. She travels there about three times a year and rents out her unit for short periods when she's not in Hawaii.
“Maui was my dream place,” she said in a phone interview from her home in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
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FILE - The aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, is viewed Aug. 17, 2023. The mayor of Maui County wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation rentals from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Jeremy Stice, who manages more than 40 vacation rental properties, walks around The Ridge Villas on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The Ridge Villas with 142 units for short-term rental is part of the 101 properties that the County of Maui may begin phasing out as early as 2025. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Jeremy Stice, who manages more than 40 vacation rental properties, poses for a portrait at The Ridge Villas on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Papakea Resort stands on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Papakea Resort stands on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Maui Eldorado isseen on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Jeremy Stice, who manages more than 40 vacation rental properties, talks about the short-term rentals along the coast at The Ridge Villas on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Papakea Resort is seen on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Maui Eldorado is seen on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii.The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Jeremy Stice, who manages more than 40 vacation rental properties, poses for a portrait at The Ridge Villas on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Papakea Resort is seen on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
But now Maui's mayor wants to make it impossible for Humiston and thousands of other condo owners to rent their properties to tourists. Instead, he wants them rented long-term to Maui locals to address a chronic housing shortage that reached a new crisis point after last August's deadly wildfire burned the homes of 12,000 residents.
The mayor's proposal faces multiple legislative and bureaucratic hurdles, starting Tuesday with a Maui Planning Commission meeting. Yet it has inflamed an already-heated debate about the future of one of the world's best-known travel destinations: Will Maui continue to cater to tourists, who power the local economy? Or will it curb tourism to address persistent complaints that visitors are overwhelming the island's beaches and roads and making housing unaffordable?
About one-third of Maui's visitors use vacation rentals. They tend to cost less than hotels and are easy to reserve on websites like Airbnb and VRBO. Many have kitchens, so families can prepare their own food.
They have also become a source of strife, particularly after last year's conflagration in Lahaina — the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a century. The fire tore through the historic town, killing at least 101 people and leaving nothing but rubble and ash for blocks. Thousands of displaced locals were temporarily housed in hotels usually reserved for tourists, and most survivors still lack stable housing.
Even before the fire, University of Hawaii researchers say so many property owners were renting to tourists — and so few new dwellings were being built — that Maui County suffered a net loss of housing since 2019.
An analysis of property tax records shows 85% of Maui County's condos are owned by out-of-state residents, said Justin Tyndall, an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. Transitioning them would boost Maui’s residential housing stock by 13%, which Tyndall said would almost certainly lead to lower buying prices and rents.
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen believes that under his proposal, those lower rents would keep locals on Maui because absentee landlords would be forced to either sell their units or convert them to long-term rentals.
There are 7,000 condo units in apartment zones, including 2,200 in West Maui near the Lahaina burn zone, and they account for about half of Maui’s legally operated short-term rentals. If enacted, the change would take effect in West Maui no later than July 1, 2025, and Jan. 1, 2026 elsewhere.
“We understand that there’s going to be a give and take. So the question is, what is most important?” Bissen said at a news conference last month. “My priority is housing our local residents - especially now.”
Humiston, president of the Hawaii Rental By Owner Awareness Association, which opposes the bill, won't sell her one-bedroom, oceanfront condo that she bought two decades ago if the bill became law. She also doesn’t plan to rent it long-term.
“It would take my ability to use my property. And I bought it for my use,” she said. “I love it there.”
Some warn that reducing the supply of lodging for visitors will ruin the tourism industry Maui's economy depends on, though backers of the mayor's bill say many vacation rentals will remain and hotels will have empty rooms visitors can stay in.
Hawaii economist Paul Brewbaker calculates that changing the rules for the affected units, which account for one-third of Maui’s visitor accommodations, would result in 33% fewer tourists and cost Maui 14,000 jobs. He called it a “slow-motion train-wreck” that would lead to an “economic crash and burn.”
Maui County Chair Alice Lee said that while housing for residents is a real concern, the council must also consider legal challenges from property owners and the potential hit on tax revenue.
The county collects $500 million in real property taxes annually and more than 40% comes from short-term rentals, which are taxed at a higher rate than owner-occupied residences, she said.
“We are being sued by over 600 people regarding the fire. We have that many lawsuits pending. Do we really want to put ourselves in a position to invite thousands more?” Lee said. “I really don’t think so, because my main concern right now, at this very moment, is to pay the bills and keep the lights on.”
The county has budgeted $300,000 to study the bill's impact on tax revenue and businesses like landscaping and cleaning services.
Jeremy Stice, a real estate agent who was born and raised on Maui, and his wife have spent 12 years building a company that today manages more than 40 vacation rental properties, mostly for other owners. About half of them would be affected by the measure, said Stice, who is also president of the Maui Vacation Rental Association.
Stice isn't sure local residents would buy — or could afford — short-term rental units even if they do become available for permanent housing.
For example, a studio in Papakea, one of the targeted condo complexes, would sell for about $600,000, he said. A 30-year-fixed mortgage at current interest rates, plus the homeowner association fees, would total about $5,000 a month for a small space, he said.
If locals don't buy them, and tourists don't rent them, it's possible the units would sit mostly empty as second homes for wealthy absentee owners — an even worse outcome.
To prevent that, the county should raise taxes on second homes, create incentives to promote long-term rentals and prioritize new housing construction, said Matt Jachowski, a Maui housing data consultant.
“The only way out of this housing crisis is to do everything — to do everything in our power to add more resident housing,” he said.
FILE - The aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, is viewed Aug. 17, 2023. The mayor of Maui County wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation rentals from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Jeremy Stice, who manages more than 40 vacation rental properties, walks around The Ridge Villas on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The Ridge Villas with 142 units for short-term rental is part of the 101 properties that the County of Maui may begin phasing out as early as 2025. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Jeremy Stice, who manages more than 40 vacation rental properties, poses for a portrait at The Ridge Villas on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Papakea Resort stands on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Papakea Resort stands on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Maui Eldorado isseen on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Jeremy Stice, who manages more than 40 vacation rental properties, talks about the short-term rentals along the coast at The Ridge Villas on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Papakea Resort is seen on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Maui Eldorado is seen on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii.The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Jeremy Stice, who manages more than 40 vacation rental properties, poses for a portrait at The Ridge Villas on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Papakea Resort is seen on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
HEALDSBURG, Calif. (AP) — Heavy downpours fell over much of Northern California on Friday, causing small landslides, overflowing a river and flooding some streets, including in parts of San Francisco. Meanwhile tens of thousands of people were still without power in the Seattle area after several days in the dark.
The storm arrived in the Pacific Northwest earlier this week, killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, mostly in the Seattle area, before moving through Northern California, where several roads were closed due to flooding and strong winds toppled trees.
Forecasters warned about the risk of flash flooding and rockslides in areas north of San Francisco from this season’s strongest atmospheric river — a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows through the sky over land.
On the East Coast, another storm brought much-needed rain to New York and New Jersey, where rare wildfires have raged in recent weeks. The rain eased the fire danger for the rest of the year and was a boost for ski resorts preparing to open in the weeks ahead. Parts of West Virginia were under a blizzard warning through Saturday morning, with up to 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow and high winds making travel treacherous.
In California's Humboldt County, the sheriff’s office downgraded evacuation orders to warnings for people near the Eel River after forecasters said the waterway would see moderate but not major flooding. Officials urged residents to prepare for storm impacts throughout the week.
Flooding closed scenic Highway 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, in neighboring Mendocino County north of Point Arena near the Garcia River, and there was no estimate for when it would reopen, according to the California Department of Transportation.
Santa Rosa saw its wettest three-day period on record with about 12.5 inches (32 centimeters) of rain, according to the National Weather Service in the Bay Area.
A small mudslide threatened a home in the community of Fitch Mountain, near Healdsburg, nestled in hills along the Russian River in Sonoma County. Moderate rain was falling, and officials worried the slide could grow and hit several homes downhill.
“Our concern is while this property may be OK, the earth between it and the road below is slipping, and the mudslide is affecting downhill properties,” said Tennis Wick, permits and resource director for Sonoma County.
Dana Eaton, who lives in one of the downhill properties and was clad in a yellow rain slicker and hat, said she was worried, too. In 2019, mud cascaded into a neighbor’s garage.
Asked what the last few days have been like, she laughed: “Wet. Constant rain. It’s like everywhere else in the county, but so far nothing major, just concerns.”
In Washington state nearly 117,000 people were still without electricity, mostly in the Seattle area's King County, as crews worked to clear streets of downed lines, branches and other debris. Utility officials said the outages, which began Tuesday, could last into Saturday.
People flocked to a suburban senior center in Issaquah to get warm food and plug in their cellphones and other devices. One of them, Melissa Tryon, said she had been unable to charge her electric motorized wheelchair and had to throw out all the food in her refrigerator after it went bad.
“Today I kind of had a little bit of a meltdown,” Tyron said. “It’s hard to be cut off for that long.”
Gale warnings were issued off Washington, Oregon and California, and high wind warnings were in effect across parts of Northern California and Oregon. There were winter storm warnings for parts of the California Cascades and the Sierra Nevada.
The National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada, reported a 128-mph (206-kph) gust of wind in the morning at the top of Palisades Tahoe ski resort, about 10 miles northwest of Lake Tahoe, where some runs were open. Gusts up to 86 mph (138 kph) were recorded at Mt. Rose, which closed due to the weather.
The system roared ashore on the West Coast on Tuesday as a “ bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly. It unleashed fierce winds that toppled trees onto roads, vehicles and homes.
Debra Campbell, 65, said she was sitting in the dark with a flashlight that night, unable to sleep as strong winds lashed her house in Crescent City, California. With a massive boom, a 150-foot (46-meter) tree came crashing down on her home and car.
“It was just so incredibly frightening," Campbell said. "Once I realized it wasn’t going to come through the ceiling where I was at, I was able to grab my car keys and my purse. ... And I open the front door and it’s just solid tree.”
She was able to stay with her boyfriend that night, but now, living on Social Security and with no savings, she worries about how she will to pay for repairs.
Officials warned of the risk of flash flooding, rockslides and debris flows, especially where hillsides were loosened by recent wildfires.
In the Northeast, which has been hit by drought, more than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain was expected by Saturday morning north of New York City, with snow mixed in at higher elevations.
Despite the mess, the precipitation was expected to help ease drought conditions in a state that has seen an exceptionally dry fall.
“It’s not going to be a drought buster, but it’s definitely going to help when all this melts,” said Bryan Greenblatt, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Binghamton, New York.
Heavy snow fell in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains, prompting a raft of school closures. Higher elevations reported up to 17 inches (43 centimeters), with lesser accumulations in valley cities like Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. More than 92,000 customers in 10 counties lost power, and the state transportation department imposed speed restrictions on some highways.
Gary Wilson, 37, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, was heading to his casino job in the Poconos in the morning when he got stuck in standstill traffic, a consequence of accidents and downed wires. At one point he worried about getting stranded because it was snowing hard and plows couldn’t get through. Traffic began moving again only after about five hours, and Wilson never did make it to work.
“I’m done for the day,” Wilson said. “Five and a half hours in the car, turn around and get home safe.”
Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. Associated Press writers Hallie Golden in Seattle, Janie Har in San Francisco, Manuel Valdes in Issaquah, Washington, Sarah Brumfield in Washington, D.C., Michael Rubinkam in Pennsylvania and John Raby in West Virginia contributed.
Wohler Road off River Road is closed off as the Russian River floods in Sonoma County, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A person uses an umbrella while crossing a street in the Meatpacking District neighborhood of Manhattan, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Property off River Road floods as the Russian River overflows in Sonoma County, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Firefighters walk through floodwaters while responding to a rescue call in unincorporated Sonoma County, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A man looks at a tree that fell on power lines during a major storm in Issaquah, Wash., on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
Cars drive through floodwaters as they rise in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A scooter rider wears a poncho and a plastic bag as a rain cover for the handlebars as they and other scooter riders battle the rain as they ride along Market Street, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 in San Francisco, Calif. (Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A pick-up truck drives through floodwaters as heavy rains fall in Windsor, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Livestock graze on a patch field not flooded by the swollen Eel River in Ferndale, Calif., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Livestock graze on a patch field not flooded by the swollen Eel River in Ferndale, Calif., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Floodwaters surround a van as heavy rains fall in Windsor, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Damage is seen after a tree crashed through a home and fence during a bomb cyclone storm system in Sammamish, Wash., on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Jason Skipper via AP)
Leticia Lezama sits in her disabled car as Gabe Sitton works to rescue her from floodwaters on Slusser Rd. as heavy rains fall in Windsor, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Flood water covers a vineyard along Windsor Road as heavy rains continue in Windsor, Calif., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A driver, left, waits for his truck to be removed from an accident site after sliding into a hillside during snow showers, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, near Quinwood, W.Va. (Jenny Harnish/The Register-Herald via AP)
Nia McKinnon and Elizabeth Hintz, both 14, look at their phones at a charging station located in the Senior Center in Issaquah, Wash., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
People charge their electronics at a charging station set up at the Issaquah Senior Center in Issaquah, Wash., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
Nia McKinnon and Elizabeth Hintz, both 14, look at their phones at a charging station located in the Senior Center in Issaquah, Wash., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
Linda Ryall and Todd Nielsen look at each other's phones at a charging station located in the Issaquah Senior Center in Issaquah, Wash., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
A firefighter drives past flooded vineyards as heavy rains continue in Windsor, Calif., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Photo by Noah Berger)
A firefighter returns to his truck among flooded vineyards as heavy rains continue in Windsor, Calif., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Photo by Noah Berger)
Sharon Scofield, 71, checks the debris in her front yard after winds knocked over many signs and halloween decorations, as flood water from the swollen Eel River is seen in the background in Ferndale, Calif., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024.(Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
People gather to charge their electronics at a charging station set up at the Issaquah Senior Center in Issaquah, Wash., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
Jorge Martinez, left, and Manuel Barral pause after the crossed a road flooded by rain waters from the nearby Eel River in Ferndale, Calif., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024.(Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A firefighter drives past flooded vineyards as heavy rains continue in Windsor, Calif., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Photo by Noah Berger)
A firefighter returns to his truck among flooded vineyards as heavy rains continue in Windsor, Calif., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Photo by Noah Berger)
Residents work to shore up a mudslide as heavy rains fall near Healdsburg in unincorporated Sonoma County, Calif., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Permit Sonoma Director Tennis Wick crosses a mudslide to inspect a home as heavy rains fall near Healdsburg in unincorporated Sonoma County, Calif., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Permit Sonoma Director Tennis Wick crosses a mudslide to inspect a home as heavy rains fall near Healdsburg in unincorporated Sonoma County, Calif., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Permit Sonoma Director Tennis Wick crosses a mudslide to inspect a home as heavy rains fall near Healdsburg in unincorporated Sonoma County, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter evaluates a mudslide as heavy rains fall near Healdsburg in unincorporated Sonoma County, Calif., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Workers clear walking paths with snow blowers during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in Norden, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)
A pickup truck makes its way through a flooded street in Santa Rosa, Calif. Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Pedestrians cross a flooded street during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A worker clears the entrance to a building with a snow blower during a storm, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in Norden, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)
A downed tree destroys a vehicle and a property during a storm, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Forestville, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A lone skier rides on a lift Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in Norden, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)
Salvador Garza shovels snow from the front of his shop Crystal Tones in Mt. Shasta, Calif.,, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, where runoff from rain and melting snow has begun to create standing water after an atmospheric river storm dumped significant precipitation in the area since Tuesday evening. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Big Chico Creek swirls by a swimming area at One Mile Recreation, runoff from Tuesday's rain and melting snow created flooding concerns as an atmospheric river storm dumped significant precipitation in Chico, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A worker clears a road with a snow blower during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in Norden, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)
A downed tree lands over a property during a storm, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Forestville, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A member of an emergency crew walks in knee-deep flooded street during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Flood water is seen across State Route 254 near Redcrest, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A rescue team help a stranded motorist in a flooded street during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Snow comes down on trees and a road during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in Norden, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)
The Baer family, Larry, from left, Tiffany and their daughter Chloe stop to see Big Chico Creek swirling by a swimming area at One Mile Recreation Area, as runoff from Tuesday's rain and melting snow created flooding concerns from an atmospheric river storm that dumped significant precipitation in Chico, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A passenger plane taxies on a water-soaked runway at San Francisco Airport while passengers wait for flights on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Andy Bao)
Cars are covered in snow during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)
A downed tree lands over a property during a storm, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Forestville, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A vineyard is flooded during a storm, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Forestville, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A pedestrian walks along a flooded street during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A car is left stranded on a flooded road during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Windsor, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
