Live storm updates: Bay Area coast sees downed trees, power outages and creek flooding

ByABC7 News Staff KGO logo
Thursday, March 23, 2023
ABC7 Bay Area 24/7 live stream

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- At least five people are dead after a Level 3 storm on the ABC7 Exclusive Storm Impact Scale moved through the Bay Area Tuesday afternoon toppling trees and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power.



ABC7's meteorologists were tracking the storm and said several places recorded wind gusts that reached more than 70 mph.



RELATED: LIVE: Track rain in San Francisco Bay Area with Live Doppler 7



Power Outages



Here are number of customers impacted, as of 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday:



  • East Bay:20,049

  • North Bay: 82

  • Peninsula:13,247

  • South Bay: 2,319

  • San Francisco:3,276


  • Total: 38,973




  • Wednesday



    6:30 p.m.
    San Mateo County coast sees downed trees, power outages and creek flooding



    Along the San Mateo County coast, they are dealing with all sorts of problems following Tuesday's storm.

    Along the San Mateo County coast they are dealing with all sorts of problems following Tuesday's storm, according to ABC7's Suzanne Phan.


    Three trees toppled onto Seton Coastside Medical Center in Moss Beach.


    Fortunately, no one was hurt.


    A spokeswoman says they're still trying to figure out how bad the damage was and if patients will be transferred to the facility in Daly City.


    Pescadero Creek overflowed its banks. Cindy Ellis said her 3.5 acre farm in Pescadero is now under 6 inches of water.


    She estimates the wind gusts got up to 60 miles per hour. "Things have been blowing around; It's horrific," said Ellis.


    "Just a lot of downed trees; part of the drive up here, the part of the lane was closed because of rock sliding into the road, said Kemp Dowdy of San Jose who headed to Pacifica to go surfing. "And pretty much in the ocean, just the brown water and the debris."


    PG&E says the largest power outage is in Pacifica where there were about 9-thousand customers without power on Wednesday afternoon.



    6 p.m.
    6 birds escape enclosure after tree falls, tears mesh at Oakland Zoo



    Oakland Zoo reported that six birds flew out of their newest aviary attraction after storm damage caused the mesh around the exhibit to tear. The zoo says that all birds are still on the zoo premises, and they expect to recover all of them with no issues.



    The zoo also tweeted out that several trees had fallen due to severe winds from Tuesday's storm. As it works to recover animals and repair damage, Oakland Zoo said that parts of the African Savannah area may be closed.





    5:30 p.m.
    Access to Olompali State Historic Park in Marin Co. closed after mudslide damages road


    Olompali State Historic Park in Novato is closed after a mudslide heavily damaged parts of Redwood Blvd., the only public access into the park, officials said.




    3:20 p.m.
    SFPD sergeant struck by falling tree, taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries



    San Francisco police announced early Wednesday afternoon an SFPD sergeant was struck by a falling tree during Tuesday's storm. He was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said.


    Five others were hit by fallen trees in Tuesday's storm, but did not survive.





    2:25 p.m.
    Flood Advisory in effect for parts of the South Bay, NWS says



    A Flood Advisory is in effect for parts of the South Bay until 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. Areas that could likely experience flooding is San Jose, Morgan Hill, Seven Trees and San Martin.


    Flooding could occur at low-lying and poor drainage areas, the NWS said.





    2 p.m.
    Highway 121, 12 in Sonoma closed due to flooding, CHP says



    State Route 121 and State Route 12 in Sonoma are closed due to flooding, the California Highway Patrol in Napa County said.



    They are reminding drivers it is both unlawful and unsafe to cross cone patterns and "Road Closed" signs. "Never drive through flooded roadways, you do not know the condition of the roadway hidden under the water."





    11:30 a.m.
    5 deaths reported from Tuesday's powerful storm in Bay Area, officials say



    At least five people died as a result Tuesday's powerful Level three storm.


    A falling tree killed a person at Lake Merritt in Oakland, according to our media partner, the East Bay Times.


    In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed's office just confirmed two people died from storm-related injuries.


    Two other people were killed when trees crushed their vehicles. One in Portola Valley and one in Rossmoor.



    8:30 a.m.
    Mudslide causes evacuations in San Mateo County


    The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office says that a portion of Woodside is under a "highly-recommended evacuation" after a mudslide. The mudslide caused Patrol Road to be shut down, and around 30 homes in the 600-800 block are impacted.



    The Sheriff's Office is asking people to pack necessary essentials and leave immediately. They say that once the road gives out, residents won't have access to emergency services.





    8 a.m.
    SFFD confirms more falling glass from downtown highrises


    The San Francisco Fire Department has confirmed that powerful winds caused a window to fall from the Millennium Tower and windows were also damaged at Salesforce Tower.



    There were no injuries and the Department of Building Inspection is working with building management to repair the damage.



    A window was also blown out from a high-rise building near Sacramento and Davis streets.



    6:30 a.m.
    East Bay fiery crash


    The CHP is investigating a fiery crash in El Sobrante on I-80 at El Portal Drive.

    Slick roads could be to blame for a fiery crash in El Sobrante overnight.



    It happened on Interstate 80 at El Portal Drive and a car was fully engulfed in flames.



    The CHP is investigating the official cause and the driver's condition is not known at this time.



    5:30 a.m.
    BART delays


    BART says it is running trains at slower speeds due to wet weather and to add 10 minutes to your planned travel.



    There is also a 20-minute delay at Daly City in the East Bay direction due to an equipment problem on the track.



    Tuesday



    9:16 p.m.
    Both directions of Hwy 101 to be closed from Belmont to San Mateo due to damaged power line


    Both directions of Highway 101 will be closed from Belmont to San Mateo beginning at 11 p.m. Tuesday to repair a damaged power line, PG&E officials said. Highway 101 will be closed between Ralston Ave. and Hillsdale Blvd. The closure is expected to last 30 to 60 minutes.



    9:10 p.m.
    All EB lanes now open on Bay Bridge after big rig overturned, CHP says


    All lanes of eastbound Interstate Highway 80 on the Bay Bridge are now open after a big rig overturned earlier Tuesday evening, causing massive delays, the California Highway Patrol said at 8:35 p.m.



    The big rig rolled over before Treasure Island and east of 4th Street, SF Alerts announced at 4:36 p.m. on Tuesday.



    Several lanes were blocked periodically with single-lane traffic and then the entire lower deck of the bridge was closed completely as tow crews moved in to remove the truck.



    9 p.m.
    1 dead, 1 injured after tree falls on car in East Bay


    One person was killed and another was injured after a large tree feel onto a car traveling on Stanley Dollar Drive in Rossmoor, according to fire officials.



    They say the driver sustained minor injuries and the passenger died in the accident.



    Residents are being asked to avoid the area since the roadway is still blocked and will remain closed.





    8:40 p.m.
    Muir Woods, Alcatraz to be closed Wednesday due to storm impacts



    Alcatraz and Muir Woods will be closed Wednesday as crews work to clean up toppled trees and other storm damage. Staff will also be doing a walkthrough to make sure there are no other safety hazards.





    8:20 p.m.
    2 EB lanes on Bay Bridge open after big rig overturns


    A big rig that overturned in the eastbound lanes of the Bay Bridge is now upright again and the clean up process is underway, according to the California Highway Patrol.



    The CHP is warning drivers to continue to use caution while in the area as emergency crews continue to clear the roadway.





    7 p.m.
    SF's 3rd Street Bridge closed after struck by barges


    Three large barges crashed into San Francisco's historic Third Street Bridge on Tuesday, damaging the side of the walkway near Oracle Park.


    The Third Street Bridge in San Francisco is shut to through traffic after being struck by barges and damaged, San Francisco Public Works said at 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday.



    The span was struck by industrial barges that came loose and collided with it during high winds and surf, SFPW said.



    City engineers are on site assessing damage.



    6:30 p.m.
    Broken glass from window falls out from SF high-rise building


    Glass was falling from the sky in San Francisco. Powerful, gusty winds likely blew out a window from a high-rise building near Sacramento and Davis, a block away from the Embarcadero Center where a window was also broken last week. So far, there are no word of any serious injuries.


    Powerful winds likely blew out a window from a high-rise building in San Francisco, a block away from another skyscraper where glass fell last week.


    6 p.m.
    AC Transit cancels SF service across Bay Bridge


    The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) has ceased all eastbound bus lines from the Salesforce Transit Center in San Francisco and all westbound lines from West Oakland BART to San Francisco, the agency said at 5:49 p.m. on Tuesday.



    A big rig that toppled over on the Bay Bridge earlier is causing major delays, the AC Transit said.



    Riders are encouraged to take BART instead, though BART is experiencing delays due to increased ridership from canceled ferry services, the Bay Bridge backup, and other weather related issues.



    AC Transit buses within the East Bay are still running without delays, the agency said.



    4:33 p.m.
    Overturned big rig blocks 4 eastbound lanes on Bay Bridge, could take hours to remove


    An overturned big rig is blocking four left lanes on eastbound I-80/Bay Bridge, just east of the 1st Street on-ramp, the CHP tweeted. It is unknown if the incident is weather-related. Major delays are expected, as CHP says it would take hours to remove the big rig from the bridge.



    4:30 p.m.
    2 rescued from car crushed by large tree in Newark



    Two people were rescued from a vehicle that was crushed by a large eucalyptus tree in Newark.



    Fire crews were able to extricate the two victims from the truck and one of them was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.





    4 p.m.
    Multiple highway ramps in Hayward closed due to downed powerline


    Multiple highway ramps in Hayward are closed due to a downed powerline. CHP tweeted that southbound I-880 to westbound SR-84 is closed. Eastbound SR-84 through to Decoto Road is also closed. Traffic from SR-84 eastbound is being diverted to southbound I-880.



    3:50 p.m.
    SF Bay Ferry suspends service due to storm conditions


    San Francisco Bay Ferry officials tweeted Tuesday that all ferry services have been suspended until conditions improve. They said they hope to resume service later this evening as winds dimish.





    3:38 p.m.
    Amtrak train derails after hitting tree in East Bay


    Firefighters are responding to Port Costa following reports of a Amtrak train that derailed after hitting a tree Tuesday afternoon. Crockett-Carquinez Fire Dept. says that Amtrak has told them no one on the train was hurt.



    3 p.m.
    Driver killed by falling tree on San Mateo Co. road, CHP says


    A person was killed by a falling tree while driving on Alpine Road in San Mateo County, according to the California Highway Patrol.

    A person was killed by a falling tree while driving on Alpine Road in San Mateo County, according to the California Highway Patrol.



    It happened just before the I-280 on-ramp around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.



    CHP officials say this was a freak accident and the driver was in a work van just heading home from work for the day. The driver was being followed by another colleague when the tree fell crushing the work van and killing the solo driver inside.



    CHP and fire crews responded but as they were working to get to the victim, more trees continued to fall, crushing another car parked behind the scene.



    2:30 p.m.
    Tree falls on truck, blocks both directions of Hwy 29 in Napa Co.


    A fallen tree is blocking state Highway 29 in both directions in Napa County on Tuesday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol and Cal Fire.



    Cal Fire's Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit initially wrote on social media shortly after 1:50 p.m. about the downed tree, which fell on a vehicle in the northbound lane is blocking the highway in both directions near Bale Lane between Calistoga and St. Helena.



    No injuries were reported as a result of the fallen tree.



    There is no estimate yet from the CHP for when the highway will reopen.





    2:15 p.m.
    Hwy 17 reopens in both directions in Scotts Valley, CHP says



    Hwy. 17 has reopened in Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz County after getting hit by damaging winds, the CHP said.





    1:30 p.m.

    South Bay bracing for another round of rain, strong winds



    The South Bay is bracing for another round of rain and strong winds.


    The Bay Area woke up to light wind, light rain and light traffic, Tuesday morning, according to ABC7's Amanda del Castillo.



    In the South Bay, the rain picked up...even puddling in the roadway.



    San Jose Resident Andre Yanez says storms over the last few months have made for a world of inconvenience. Yanez, personally impacted by downed trees and power outages in previous downpours.



    "It's really bad sometimes because I have no electricity. You know, can't do my own work or like, can't cook at all because all that stuff is gone."



    Maintenance and clean-up crews have been hard at work--focused on restoration, and getting ready for more rain.



    1:25 p.m.
    Highway 17 in Scotts Valley shut down in both directions, CHP says



    State Route 17 is shut down at Mt. Hermon Rd in Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz County, the California Highway Patrol said. Northbound traffic is being diverted to El Rancho Rd.



    Southbound traffic is being diverted to Granite Creek.





    1 p.m.
    More than 4,800 PG&E customers without power along Peninsula



    More than 4,800 PG&E customers are without power Tuesday morning along the Peninsula due to storm-related outages, according to the utility.



    Most of the affected customers are in the area of Millbrae and Burlingame, where an outage was reported at 9:51 a.m. affecting 4,560 customers, PG&E officials said.



    12:45 p.m.
    Bay Area airports reporting flight delays, cancellations



    More than 240 flight delays and 27 flights have been canceled at San Francisco International Airport, according to FlightAware as of this writing.



    At Oakland international Airport, it is reporting 50 flight delays and three cancellations.



    Over at San Jose Mineta International Airport, it is reporting 65 delays and two cancellations, per FlightAware.



    This is due to the strong winds in the Bay Area.



    8 a.m.
    Deadly crash NB Highway 17 in Santa Cruz Mountains


    One person is dead after a rollover crash on Northbound Highway 17 at El Rancho Dr., CHP says. The off-ramp is closed and it's unknown when it will reopen.



    This has caused a significant backup on Highway 17, and drivers are advised to use alternate routes.



    Bay City News contributed to this report.





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