Wind Whips Through Sacramento Region
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- Winds gusting at upwards of 40 mph caused plenty of mishaps throughout the Sacramento Valley on Tuesday -- and also set up some potential problems later this week.
The wind knocked out power, turned off traffic lights and even sparked fires.
Ronan McGhee just happened to spot the aftermath of an arcing power line in East Sacramento on 42nd street when a fence caught on fire.
"I saw the smoke rising from the neighbor's house," he said. "I ran into my neighbor's yard and put the fire out. It was a big short circuit."
Luckily they got the fire out fast. SMUD said 67 customers lost power in the neighborhood.
Crews were busy working the streets cutting problem tree branches, and Caltrans flashed warning signs on area highways and bridges to be on alert for the high winds.
The gusty day might be almost over, but the work is not.
"It's a mess," Molly Evangelisti said. "Tomorrow is clean-up day, and we start all over again with more wind and rain at the end of the week."
Tuesday's winds could cause more problems when storms are expected in the region beginning Thursday.
"The wind has weakened some of the leaves and branches, and what's going to happen is the rain's going to hit those weak branches and bring some limbs down," said Mike Ritenour of Valley Crest Tree Service.
"We're going to see some failures."
The first storm is expected to bring light rain Thursday night and into Friday, with snow in the Sierras down to 4,000 feet. A second storm will move through the area Saturday night and into Sunday, bringing with it unseasonably cold overnight temperatures in the very low 40s.
