A winter storm swept through the local area last week, bringing with it precipitation and chilly temperatures that forced residents to bring out their down jackets and umbrellas. Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View fared well overall, but some residents – not so much.
From Feb. 11 to Feb. 20, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View have received approximately three inches of rain, based on data from the National Weather Service.
Pacific Gas and Electric customers experienced outages across the Bay Area. At the outage peak, approximately 17,390 of the 23,761outages in the Bay Area were along the Peninsula. Exact numbers during that time for Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View were unavailable.
In addition to the outages, Los Altos Hills experienced the most impacts from the storm.
“The town of Los Altos Hills experienced several impacts from the recent winter storms, including several downed trees, debris in roadways, scattered power outages, and small localized flooding,” officials said in the town’s Feb. 19 weekly newsletter. “Over the past two days, PG&E crews have been actively working throughout the area to assess damage, patrol lines, and restore service as quickly and safely as possible. The response effort was coordinated with town staff and public safety partners to address hazards and stabilize affected neighborhoods. We appreciate PG&E’s continued support and the patience of residents while restoration and cleanup efforts continue.”
Lenka Wright, Mountain View chief communications officer, said the city didn’t have “any notable storm-related impacts.”
The situation was similar in Los Altos. Earlier last week, Los Altos City Manager Gabe Engeland said the city had “… some minimal flooding in parks.” In an email Friday, he added that some tree limbs had fallen, but nothing major had occurred.
But some residents didn’t fare nearly as well as their neighbors.
Ellen Schwarz, a resident on Eureka Court in Los Altos, lives on a cul-de-sac of six homes just a short way off of Grant Road. Just
before dawn Feb. 19, while Schwarz was asleep, she said her neighbor described what sounded “like a bomb going off.” Less than an hour later, Schwarz saw the damage: A gigantic tree trunk had crashed down on top of her neighbors’ roof, breaking glass as it loomed into the home. The family who lives there – a young family with a child – could not use the kitchen or their utilities due to the risk, Schwarz said.
“This happened in the dark and you couldn’t really see anything until you got some light. When it was light you saw how bad it was,” she said.
The night before, there had been lightning, thunder, and swooshing, gusty winds. Sporadically, there would be downpours of precipitation, she said. After the treefall and throughout the day, workers from PG&E were toiling through the storm to regain power for the family, she said. Workers from Davey Tree Service were tasked with removing the tree. Schwarz praised the emergency responders for their quick response during the crisis, she said.
“I think people really need to check their trees. There’s another in this neighborhood that looks like it is sick,” she said. “People need to be aware.”
