A man died Sunday after he was struck by a falling tree branch during a burst of strong winds that swept through Santa Rosa, city officials said.
The man was hit in the 800 block of Howard Street and suffered major injuries, according to the city. He was taken to a local hospital, where he later died. His name had not been released Monday morning.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Office will determine the official cause of death.
In a separate incident, a 23-year-old woman was seriously injured when a branch struck her in the 300 block of Steele Lane, officials said. Emergency crews treated her at the scene before taking her to a local hospital, where she remained under care.
The two injuries came during several hours of gusty weather that sent Santa Rosa police and fire crews across the city beginning about 3 p.m. Sunday.
Santa Rosa recorded gusts above 40 mph, the city said. Crews responded to more than 15 wind-related calls, including downed trees, fallen power lines, blown transformers and a tree that fell onto a vehicle.
Power outages were also reported across the city.
The National Weather Service had warned that strong winds could topple limbs and cause outages in parts of the Bay Area.
A wind advisory covering the North Bay interior mountains and several other elevated parts of the region remained in effect until 11 a.m. Monday, with forecasters calling for gusts up to 50 mph and isolated gusts up to 60 mph.
The winds were part of a dry offshore pattern that raised fire-weather concerns in parts of the Bay Area, especially in higher elevations and interior areas.
Santa Rosa fire crews continued handling other emergency calls during the wind event, including medical emergencies, small fires and requests for mutual aid from neighboring agencies, the city said.
Officials did not release additional details about the man who died or the woman who was injured.