Timber! Winds Make First Strike in South Bay

Did you notice it was a little windy today?

It was one of those "hold on to your hats" days from the start.

High winds had drivers clutching the steering wheel before sunrise as they crossed Bay Area bridges.

It worried the firefighters on the line in the Santa Cruz mountains.

And it cause many a bad hair day.

Then in the early afternoon, came the first of what is sure to be many reports of things tipping over.

The strong winds knocked over a 75-foot eucalyptus tree in San  Jose causing damage to three town homes.

Firefighters responded to the 2900 block of Rose Avenue at about  11:40 a.m. to find that an "impressive" tree had fallen onto a row of homes,  Capt. Barry Stallard said.

Three homes in a row of about eight were severely damaged,  Stallard said. Fire crews searched the town homes and determined that no one  was inside when the tree fell. He estimated the damage at about $500,000.

A city arborist will bring a team to cut apart the tree and take  it away, he said. The row of homes is in an older neighborhood with large  trees.

"With a three-day wind event, this sort of thing may continue to happen throughout the area," Stallard said.

The National Weather Service has issued high-wind warnings and advisories for the region through Wednesday morning.
 

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