San Francisco

Heavy Winds Cause Downed Trees, Power Outages Across Bay Area

The wind continued to wreak havoc around the Bay Area Wednesday, as downed trees, fallen poles, and power outages affected thousands of residents.

The high winds created a chain reaction that damaged at least eight power lines and caused scattering power outages throughout the Bay Area.

In San Jose's Silver Creek neighborhood, multiple power poles were out of commission after Wednesday's windstorm punished power lines and twisted metal poles. Residents are gradually getting the lights back on.

PG&E crews have brought lights out to Silver Creek, as they work on fixing the power poles through the night. More than 620 in the South Bay remain without power.

Further north in Burlingame, crews cleared two downed trees along the busy El Camino Real and Broadway intersection.

The trees were uprooted by strong winds and fell across the road, one hitting Jamshid Abianeh's house.

"I was at work and my wife called me and she says she was crying and very nervous and she said the tree fell down on our house," Abianeh said.

The family said they were lucky that nobody was hurt. But now, with power back on at their home, they are cleaning up.

"It was a rough day, a rough 24 hours right before the new year I'll tell you, but we are extremely lucky to be alive," Abianeh said.

In the East Bay, a massive tree downed on Beach Road near Godfry Park in Alameda. The 100-year-old, 100-foot-tall Eucalyptis tree landed just inches from homes.

One man explained how close his truck came to being under the tree.

"This giant gust that looked like a physical thing went by around 40 miles an hour, and I think one of those just blew this one over," Armen Phelps said. "Almost lost my Ford F-150 over there. it missed it"

Crews have already started chopping up the tree, but it was so big they could not finish it in one day. They are hoping to finish clearing it Thursday.

Crews have been working around the clock across the Bay Area trying to restore power, as the wind knocked out the lights. Crews are making some headway.

About 99 percent of those affected have had their power restored. However, roughly 2,400 people in the Bay Area still are without power.

In addition to the 620 in the South Bay, the East Bay has more than 1,000 people still in the dark. And 90 customers in the North Bay are without power.

And as of 6:50 p.m., another 670 people in San Francisco and the Peninsula are waiting for their power to be turned back on.

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