Foothills Residents Still Recovering From December Storm Worried Looming Winds Could Put Power Back Out
ALTA SIERRA (CBS13) — Winds in the foothills are forecasted to reach up to 60 miles per hour with warnings from Pacific Gas and Electric of potential power outages in an area where Nevada County residents are still reeling from the fallout of that big December storm.
It hasn't even been a month since many residents in the small community of Alta Sierra got their power turned back on, and now, a wind storm is coming that could leave them in the dark again.
Crews are still sawing through piles of felled trees in the area, and residents are still recovering from December's storm damage.
"Every one of these houses had a tree fall on it," said David McDaniel.
McDaniel says cleanup crews are booked four months out. He worries that Tuesday night's wind storm will do even more damage to trees already weak from the winter storm.
"There's two branches on this tree that are coming off that are just hanging," he said. "They're widow makers at this point."
But the news of more potential power outages that has residents worried. So what is PG&E doing to plan for potential power outages?
The company tells us they are increasing crews in the Sierra Foothills and the Sacramento Valley, in addition to staging equipment so it's ready to go.
"Equipment that we often see damaged in a wind storm: transformers, we'll have wires down," said PG&E spokesperson Megan McFarland. "We want to have all that equipment ready so that when the weather clears, crews can go in and make repairs."
