Gusty winds topple trees, power lines around Bay Area

Tree trimmers and public works crews on Monday cleared a large tree from the road in Palo Alto.

It toppled over during gusty winds and crushed a parked car. This happened at Emerson Street and Homer Avenue.

"In a way it’s sad to see a big tree blow over like that," said Palo Alto resident Susan Vecsey. "You can see the roots were pretty shallow."

Wind was blamed for knocking out power to thousands of PG&E customers. A wind advisory was issued for the greater part of the Bay Area. The gusty weather impacted work on the Great Highway by whipping sand onto the road.

SEE ALSO: Winds knock out power to thousands around Bay Area

In Contra Costa County, the strong wind snapped some shade canopies at the bocce ball courts in Martinez. Maintenance Chairman Keith Machado said they will have to make repairs fast because the season is about to start.

"Our season starts on Saturday so it’s kind of a major thing," said Machado. "We need shade for everybody and as you can see over there we have another one about to start over."

Brian Garcia with the National Weather Service said the peaks got the strongest wind gusts. He said the wind is a good reminder to prepare for fire season.

Garcia said, "Fire is possible all the time of the year in our area. But will a fire carry a cross a large area in conditions we have right now? And right now we don’t have that concern because of the fuel moistures that are out there."