Crews working to repairs roads, restore power afer weekend storms

Storm damage from the air shows road blocks in Santa Cruz. A three to four foot diameter tree fell across the road over Route 9 and 35.

TRACK THE RAIN: Street level interactive map

It's a big inconvenience for people going from Boulder Creek in Santa Cruz to Silicon Valley. But many who live in the area have gotten used to it.

Signs on 280 and Highway 9 warned that Boulder Creek was closed off for most of the day at 'The Gap,' what locals referred to as the Santa Cruz-Santa Clara county line.

PHOTOS: Storm moves into Bay Area

Three miles into the Santa Cruz side it becomes evident why the road is closed. The weekend's rain was too much for the hillside, which crumbled onto the road and knocking out a power pole along the way.

Caltrans is trying to remove the mud so PG&E crews can come in and replace the downed power line.

Caltrans will send a crew to the top of the hill to make sure there are no more cracks. If they find any, they will work to fix it and stabilize the mud and the hillside.

Resident Gary Cole says people out this way know this is what happens during a heavy rain, and that you just have to find another way around town. "It's just a part of living in the mountains," he said.

The area is expected to be open by Monday evening. Highway 17 is the best alternative.

Meanwhile, a neighborhood in Vallejo was without power for at least 14 hours after fierce winds brought down a power pole.

People living near Baxter and Burnham Streets heard a loud explosion around 9 p.m. Sunday night.

They say the noise was wind knocking down a tree and splitting a power pole.

"There was wind that was so intense that I thought it was going to blow in our back sliding glass door, so I put the pillow over my face cause I thought it was going to blow. Then all of the sudden there was a loud explosion and the power went out," explained resident Barbara Platzer.

A Napa homeowner says the storm was so powerful that she first thought it was an earthquake!

It turns out a 60-foot oak tree had fallen on her home. That happened around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The woman was not hurt, but her home was damaged.

In Oakland, a large tree fell across part of Skyline Boulevard. Crews managed to cut it up, so the roadway could re-open. In Berkeley, the owner of a Toyota Prius is without wheels, after a giant branch toppled onto their car. It took crews several hours to clear a large that fell on Gill Port Lane and Land Arkell Road.

A tree in Foster City forced some people from their homes late Sunday night. The tree partially fell onto the Tradewind apartments on Polynesia Drive around 10:15 p.m. Firefighters decided it was best to evacuate residents from the top floor as a pre-caution.

In San Francisco there was a mad dash to get people out of the way after strong winds knocked styrofoam construction blocks off the roof of the Renoir Hotel last night at McAllister and Market. One person went to the hospital with minor injuries.

The mix of wind and rain can be an issue when it comes to power. In Antioch, the Save Mart supermarket on East 18th Street lost power for a while last night. Workers escorted shoppers to the door, after the store went dark. They also covered open display cases with plastic tarps, to keep perishable items like dairy products and some frozen foods cold.

Marin County residents will learn how much water has collected in local reservoirs. The last report showed Marin County reservoirs at 97 percent of capacity -- thanks to heavy rains in December. The reservoirs are normally about 81 percent full at this time of year. Now despite robust numbers, the marin municipal water district still urges residents and business owners to keep conserving.

The storm is also bringing some much needed snow to the Sierra, and that's causing some delays for drivers. If you're heading to or from South Lake Tahoe, chains are required between Twin Bridges and Meyers. There are no chain restrictions on I-80 for passenger vehicles. Forecasters expect another 14 inches of snow in the mountains from this storm. The area picked up between 10 and 15 inches on Friday. California gets a big chunk of its drinking water from the Sierra snowpack.

California's insurance commissioner is urging people to check their insurance and do a home inventory. Most policies don't cover flooding, but will cover damage from falling trees or wind. For more information on what may be covered, click here.

To check out the latest power outage numbers from PG&E, click here.

We want to remind you that it's easy to track the storm on Live Doppler 7 HD anytime! Click here to download the ABC7 Weather App for free on Apple's App Store or Google Play.