Bay Area emerges from deadly storm

OAKLAND, Calif. - After a punishing and deadly storm, the Bay Area saw more showers Wednesday morning, but without the brutal winds that caused so much carnage the day before.

In fact, it began to rain so heavily in Woodside, that the San Mateo County Sheriff strongly recommended that the 30 residents living on Patrol Road evacuate because of a mudslide. 

KTVU meteorologist Steve Paulson said that pockets of rain and thunderstorms are still in the mix throughout the day, and temperatures will be unseasonably cool in the 50s. 

But, he added: "The wind event is over." 

It was the wind, racing through at 77 mph at Pier 1 in San Francisco, that caused the most damage on Tuesday afternoon through the evening.

At least five people died due to the storm. Two people were killed when trees crashed down on their cars. One man driving a sewer truck in Portola Valley and an elderly man in Rossmoor were victims.

Two people in San Francisco died from separate "storm-related incidents," the mayor's office announced Wednesday. They did not provide more information about the deadly incidents. 

In Oakland, a man in a tent near Lake Merritt was killed by a falling tree Tuesday afternoon. He has not been identified. Authorities believe that he was homeless. 

On Wednesday, the Contra Costa County Coroner identified the man as Thomas Huster, 79, of Walnut Creek. 

The truck driver in Portola Valley was identified as Jesus Ivan Cruz Diaz, 29 of San Jose by the San Mateo County coroner on Wednesday.

"Unfortunately, it was one of those freak accidents," said California Highway Patrol Officer Daniel Hill, said about Cruz Diaz. "He and his partner were driving in two separate vans. They were leaving a job, going to another and unfortunately, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

San Francisco also saw downed tree and wires across the city. Two people were critically wounded after they were struck by a falling tree on Post and Polk streets.

Winds also knocked several barges into the historic Lefty O'Doul's Bridge built in 1933 in San Francisco near Oracle Park, causing damage. 

Massive waves also battered San Francisco's Embarcadero, and the winds caused so much turmoil, all San Francisco ferries were shut down just as commuters were arriving to the gates.

"I appreciate they're being safe and probably wouldn't feel good if I were on the ferry anyway," said Anna Piller, who would have been an Alameda ferry passenger.

It was a similar scene at the Oakland estuary, where a section of a dock broke loose and floated away with at least five boats connected to it. 

In Berkeley, standing atop Grizzly Peak felt like it was a hurricane. 

The winds also caused San Francisco International Airport to ground flights and evacuations in Santa Cruz County, where winds gusted up to 80 mph. 

Power was knocked out to nearly 200,000 PG&E customers at its peak, including Stanford University, where Fred Fuchs' 99-year-old father lives. 

"He can't walk," Fuchs said. "He can't go to a hotel. He's stuck at home freezing. How can Stanford University houses be without power?" 

By Wednesday at 3 p.m.., PG&E 64,914 customers were without power, mostly in the East Bay and Peninsula. 

Meteorologists say that the weather should dry up for the weekend, and then residents should prepare for another round of storms on Tuesday.

Randy Hammond of Clayton is ready for the wet weather to be over. 

"Rain is wonderful," she said. "But I'm done."