On Monday, the Bay Area was still dealing with the aftermath of Saturday’s winds and rainstorm, and in some places the effects were a little longer lasting.
A tour of Golden Gate Park during the rain can be quite soggy, but do it when it’s windy and it can be downright dangerous. Saturday’s storm downed huge trees throughout the park.
Jim Deasy lives nearby and said he usually avoids wooded areas after storms, including the huge eucalyptus and Monterey pines, most of which are reaching the end of their natural lifespan.
“I won’t walk through that,” he said. “I don’t want to be clocked! Monterey pines and Monterey cypress pretty much have a life expectancy of 75 years. So if you have a tall tree like that with storms and wind, they’ll fall over.”
One large pine fell along the park’s bison paddock and tore a hole in the park’s fence. And on the hill overlooking the field it looked like a bomb had gone off.
A giant eucalyptus fell over side by side, exposing its shallow root balls. And some tall pines simply broke off at the base. And across the street, another fallen tree caught the attention of a man named Alain, an urban gardener who has lived in San Francisco since 1961.
“I mean, we’ve had some big storms here, but I’ve never seen so many trees, big trees, fall like that at one time,” he said. “I would say things have really intensified in the last few years with much higher wind speeds. Yeah, if you live near the ocean you’ll understand that, wind speeds of 30 to 40 miles per hour, not unusual.”
The storm destroyed more than just trees. Peter Krag said the high winds blew out one of the windows of his 100-year-old home in the Richmond District.
“There was a door that swung open and the cats were all upset,” he said. “It burst like that and half the window fell out. Just by the force of the wind. We didn’t hit any trees or anything.”
On Monday afternoon, Fulton Street at 36th Avenue was closed after a tree severed a power line and debris flew into the street like shrapnel. But the real power headache occurred in Novato, where electricity had been out for three days. PG&E crews struggled to replace downed lines in a Fairway Drive neighborhood.
“Yesterday was slow because there was solid rock under that one pole, and then we found a broken pole in the middle of the mix. And we had to stop everything and prop it up so it wouldn’t fall on anyone’s house or car,” he said. a PG&E employee who said his name was Rick. ‘It all started when that tree fell. It was strange that such a healthy tree fell. Maybe those high winds that turned into a tornado in the South Bay started here. I have no idea.’
Nevertheless, the neighbors began to lose patience.
“I’m glad they’re working here. It’s the third day. I feel like I’m living like an animal at home, it’s so cold,” said Jeff Rawles, who had been without electricity since Saturday morning. “I mean, there’s not a huge amount of animosity. We’re just… It’s a big deal. It’s exciting for one day, but three days is a long time. So we will be happy when this is over.’
For most, it’s over when the rain and wind stop. But there are always the unfortunate ones who still have to deal with the consequences of a storm for a while.
