SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. (KTXL) — Over 1,000 inmates and staff were evacuated from the Rio Cosumnes Correction Center due to a threat of flooding on New Year’s Day, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. 

Authorities said the evacuation happened around 2 p.m. after the sheriff’s office initiated a Level 1 activation of the Emergency Operations Center. 

According to the sheriff’s office, the threat of a flood grew by the hour after weather conditions worsened and road conditions eroded near the RCCC on Bruceville Road. 

All 1,075 inmates were evacuated and transported to nearby correctional facilities, the sheriff’s office said. The sheriff’s office said the evacuation took several hours. 

“To ensure both short-term and long-term safety, while weighing the risk of the facility’s viability as conditions worsened, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office decided to evacuate all inmates and staff from RCCC before conditions deteriorate to a point where those at the facility could be left in peril,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release.