A large tree came crashing down in Los Altos Thursday morning, leaving some residents without power and water.
The 75-foot pine tree fell just before 10 a.m. on Camellia Way near Springer Road, taking down power lines and damaging the water system.
"When the tree fell, the power lines also created some damage to the power poles," Santa Clara County Fire Department Capt. Matt Mokhtarian said. "Currently, PG&E's process is to make the power poles safe and then they'll be able to remove the tree from around the power lines and then re-string the power through the new power poles."
The tree damaged a fire hydrant and a 6-inch water main, cutting off water to about 18 Cal Water customers.
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Cal Water said it has to wait until PG&E removes the tree before it can make repairs. The agency is providing bottled water to the affected residents.
PG&E wasn't sure how long the repair work will take, but crew members were told it will be an all-night job.
One resident in the area who didn’t want to go on camera told NBC Bay Area Thursday that the tree has been a problem in the past.
As Bay Area residents prepare for the next storm set to roll in this weekend, tree specialists say people being aware of the trees around them is important.
“Right now, because of the recent storms, the soil is at maximum field capacity, which means it is holding all the water it can possibly hold so this new storm, water has nowhere to go,” said Larry Van Groningen with the Bay Area Tree Specialists.
They added that residents should be looking around the base of the trees around their house and checking for any fresh cracks in the dirt.
PG&E told NBC Bay Area Thursday that they’re keeping a close eye on areas like the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Peninsula for the coming days.
PG&E also has a prediction model that helps them identify how many crews they need in certain areas.
“We do expect to see fallen trees, like we saw in several cities across the Bay Area and possibly even landslides, and those are access issues we are going to be looking out for,” said PG&E spokesperson Stephanie Magallon.
