Major cleanup and repairs are underway on the Peninsula. A tornado warning for parts of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties meant a lot of residents were hit hard by intense winds.
Major cleanup and repairs are underway on the Peninsula.
A tornado warning for parts of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties meant a lot of residents were hit hard by intense winds.
This is a Christmas holiday many residents won’t forget.
Michael Mace of El Granada got some bad news on Christmas Day.
“When I got here, it was way worse than I even thought,” said Mace.
A neighbor called to tell Mace that a cypress tree came down at his home.
“It was a domino effect. This big tree over here as you could see came down, took out a utility pole; that came down. It brought the other utility pole down,” said Rob Robertson of El Granada.
The tree destroyed three of Mace’s vehicles. But, that’s not all.
“Then the telephone pole fell on this pickup,” said Mace.
The tree came within a foot of hitting Mace’s house. Fortunately, no one was home at the time.
“Everyone came out of this unscathed pretty much,” said Robertson.
A short distance away, another close call in El Granada.
“It’s just scary. I’m glad it didn’t do more damage,” said Eliana Torres.
Torres wasn’t home when a tree came crashing into her apartment around 6 p.m. on Christmas.
“It didn’t do any damage on the inside; thankfully it just hit the corner. And there’s no water damage inside,” said Torres.
Extreme winds battered the San Mateo County coast Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
“Up to 60 miles per hour gusts,” said Dan Haggerty.
“The winds were incredible. It was crazy weather. We had hail yesterday, lightening, and thunder. It’s crazy,” said Ana Doria, a Montara resident.
Doria says a huge cypress tree snapped in half and almost hit her daughter’s apartment on Christmas Eve.
“She sees this huge tree coming her way and it just missed her,” said Doria.
A number of people in Montara and El Granada are still without power. This, as crews work to repair downed power lines and remove debris from fallen trees.
Residents say the outages and extensive damage done raise big concerns about who’s responsible for taking care of (risky) trees.
“Powerlines should be underground, and big trees shouldn’t be next to houses,” said Doria.