Trees, Big Rigs Toppled As Fierce Winds Batter Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — Bay Area residents took stock Monday morning of the damage from high winds that blew through the region Sunday night, knocking over trees and causing power outages.
The California Highway Patrol said high winds knocked over six big rigs on a stretch of Interstate 580 in Tracy. The crashes began around 6 p.m. and continued until about 5 a.m. Monday.
CHP Officer Juan Cruz says two drivers suffered minor to moderate injuries.
In San Francisco, scaffolding blew down into a transformer on Hyde and Sacramento Streets knocking out power to 5,600 customers in the Russian Hill, Nob Hill and Ghirardelli Square area at about 9:25 p.m. on Sunday.
High Winds Wreak Havoc Across The Bay Area
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said the Hyde Street cable car would be out of service until Monday afternoon due to the cleanup.
At the upscale Bay Street mall in Emeryville, high winds caused the collapse of metal framework and screens in front of the former Forever 21 store front that's now under construction.
In Antioch, a tree fell onto a house injuring the home owner who was taken to the hospital.
Power lines were also down in Vallejo, Treasure Island and Livermore.
National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Walburn told KCBS that the weather system that brought the wind blew in from Idaho on Sunday afternoon and also brought snow to the Sierra with about a half a foot falling in Lake Tahoe, Truckee and Blue Canyon.
"We actually had a wind gusts to 75 miles an hour and that was exactly at 8:12 p.m. last night so at three different hours there we had from 65 to 75 miles an hour. The Altamont as everybody knows is windy spot but even for the Altamont those are some exceptionally strong winds," Walburn said.
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