A look back at Mark Finan's memorable moments during his 33-year career at KCRA 3

After years of concern about California running dry — with reservoirs reaching historic lows — it can be hard to remember what it's like when the water is too high. On New Year's Day in 1997, the rain just wouldn’t stop, leading to devastating flooding in the days to follow. An estimated $2 billion was reported in damages, and eight people died over the course of more than a week when levees broke, residents were evacuated and towns flooded. Find a full timeline of the flooding here. Mark discussed how significant the flooding was and the challenges that limited technology at the time posed.

Watch our full special on the 1997 flooding here.

This was another time in Northern California when major flooding was preceded by years of drought concerns. After repeated lackluster rainy seasons, New Year's 2023 happened. The rain arrived, and there was a lot of it, more than anyone was really prepared for. This was only the beginning of what would be one of the wettest winter seasons in a long time. While Finan was not concerned about the Sacramento and American rivers flooding, he was concerned about the Cosumnes River. On Dec. 31, 2022, he warned the Cosumnes would reach 17.4 feet, which was the highest it has been since 1997. To get a better perspective of the widespread flooding, Mark hopped into LiveCopter 3 and gave viewers an aerial perspective.

Mark spent more than an hour in the helicopter while surveying flooding damage. Watch the entire trip.

To know California is to know wildfires. Finan's knowledge of the area and fire behavior has made him pivotal in covering wildfires.

And in his 33 years at KCRA 3, he has seen more than his fair share of the destructive wildfires that have become larger and more aggressive, especially in recent years.

One such wildfire, the Caldor Fire, burned about 220,000 acres, destroyed more than 1,000 buildings and cost about $1.2 billion in damages. What was also notable is that it forced a historic evacuation of South Lake Tahoe; the last time the city was evacuated was in 2007 because of the Angora Fire.

Mark talked about how technology has made great strides in helping people track wildfires.

The Caldor Fire led to extensive coverage on air and online, telling several stories about evacuees, businesses impacted and the fire behavior itself.

Finan provided an in-depth perspective on the speed of the advancing flames and the rugged terrain surrounding the wildfire.

Those who've lived in Northern California long enough can recall the crisis and panic caused a crumbling spillway at one of the tallest dams in California.

In 2017, the Oroville Dam spillway suffered from massive erosion, leading to the evacuation of more than 180,000 residents near Lake Oroville and downstream along the Feather River.

| MORE LIKE THIS | A look back at the spillway five years after the 2017 crisis

The fear of catastrophe led to the point where Finan explained what would happen if the spillway ever failed.

Mark also took the time to discuss what could have happened downstream and what areas could have been impacted.

There was a time when the weather center was not the only base of operations for Mark.

He did a series in 2007 called "Wine and Weather."Wine in California is a multi-billion industry, and nothing affects the grapes more than the weather.

Over the course of a year, Mark followed the growing season for Boeger Winery.

Mark said one of his favorite assignments was flying over Yosemite National Park.

From the air, he explained the potential for flooding because of the relentless rain and snow during much of the 2023 winter season.

Watch Mark's full report from the sky.