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Dangerous winds, lightning likely in Napa County
Emergency officials in Napa County warn of 60 to 70 mph wind gusts during the overnight hours. This will likely include lightning. People are warned to stay indoors and stay away from windows. Meanwhile PG&E works to restore massive power outages throughout the area.
NAPA, Calif. - High winds expected overnight bring the threat of more downed trees and power outages.
A falling oak tree brought down an entire cliff side of rocks and dirt with it, in Napa Monday morning. The wind and rain-soaked soil too much for the tree which blocked part of the Silverado Trail south of St Helena and had to be cut piece by piece.
"The trees are compromised, you know, with the drought and the trees here is dying. Well, you can see how these roots that they're all broken," said Steve Stangland, the Napa County Public Works Superintendent. Stangland says Monday was the busiest day all weekend for crews trying to catch up on all the calls for downed trees.
"The trees are not as strong as they should be because of the drought, and then you get a situation like this," said Stangland.
North Bay officials say wind remains a big concern.
"We've seen wind gusts of up to 50 to 60 miles per hour just in the last 24 hours in this area. Last Wednesday, when we had that earlier storm, we saw gusts of up to 90 miles per hour," said Battalion Chief Todd Overshiner of the Marin County Fire Department.
At the Marin County Fire station in Woodacre, Monday night, a generator was powering the lights. PG&E's outage map showed the neighborhood had been in the dark more than 17 hours since power went out around 2 a.m.
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"As the soils continue to erode and roads undermined, we can you know, we all expect more trees to fall bringing more power lines down," said Overshiner.
The Marin County Fire Department says they has 30 extra people staffing the urban search and rescue team and another 16 people on standby for water rescues.
Officials say if you see a downed tree this week, be sure to call 3-1-1 and stay away.
"The end of the tree could be hung up in the power lines and you touch the tree at the other end and that electricity travels all the way through that tree," said Stangland.
Napa County's Office of Emergency Services issued an alert saying there could be wind gusts up to 70-miles-an-hour, followed by lightning strikes. They are urging people to stay inside.