Live storm updates: Car flies off highway overpass in East Bay

ByABC7 News Staff KGO logo
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
ABC7 News Coverage: Rain, wind, fallen trees around Bay Area
ABC7 News coverage from 4 p.m. show as rain, wind, fallen trees as storm moves through the Bay Area.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- We told you it was coming and now, the rain has returned with winds picking up with a Level 2 Storm according to our Storm Impact Scale.

Power outages are being reported across the Bay Area, and there are concerns of falling glass.

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

STORM TIMELINE: Level 2 storm rolls through Bay Area with heavy rain and strong winds

Power Outages

Here are number of customers impacted, as of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday:

East Bay: 783

North Bay: 355

Peninsula: 343

South Bay: 226

San Francisco: 70

Total: 1,777

Tuesday

6:25 p.m.
Slippery roads cause crashes on East Bay freeways

The slippery freeways cause several car crashes in the East Bay on Tuesday.

There were accidents in the East Bay including a tree down across a portion of I-680 in Pleasanton, a midday crash on Highway 24 and a pick up truck that flew off the same stretch of road.

But there was good news out there amid the gloomy skies - an improving situation along I-580 at the Altamont Pass where last week a retaining wall collapsed, as lanes of the busy freeway developed huge cracks.

"Right now, this week, we are in a much better situation for motorists out there. Right now all four lanes are currently opened and they should remain open while we do some temporary repairs," Caltrans spokesperson Bart Ney said.

4:30 p.m.
Heavy surf, flooding in Peninsula

And in Half Moon Bay, sandbags just weren't enough to protect John Seawart's garage, which he says is the fourth time it's flooded this year.

The storm packed quite a punch for folks along the Peninsula, which saw wind gusts as strong as 50 miles per hour this morning.

With waves so strong in Pacifica, some surfers chose to stay away.

"If I was new to surfing, I wouldn't paddle out right now, it's a little intimidating," Ian Alba, a surfer said.

This, while the region is still working to pick up the pieces from the last storm, with trees and power lines down in the Moss Beach area from last week.

And in Half Moon Bay, sandbags just weren't enough to protect John Seawart's garage, which he says is the fourth time it's flooded this year.

"It's not fun, it's not fun, you have to keep everything in your garage up on blocks and then get a lot of water and then you have to clean out all of the silt and dry everything out with fans," Seawart said.

Meanwhile because of all that water, some of his neighbors had to go on a bit of a wild goose chase, just to track down their trash cans.

"The Greenways truck just came by and all of the Greenways ones that they set back down in the water all like floated down as the garbage truck went up," Jessica Mauk, a Half Moon Bay resident said.

3:45 p.m.
Rain, winds return to Santa Cruz Co. as recovery continues from previous storms

One of the hardest hit areas by the repeated storms this year has been Santa Cruz County. Rain and intense winds hit the area again Tuesday.

One of the hardest hit areas by the repeated storms this year has been Santa Cruz County. Rain and intense winds hit the area again Tuesday.

In less than three months, the county saw back-to-back flooding, extreme debris on beaches and even roadways giving out.

In some of those areas, partial road closures are still in effect. In others, like a portion of Main Street in Soquel that washed out weeks ago, temporary fixes like steel plates on the road are the only things giving the residents access to the rest of their community.

County officials saying at the time the Soquel road washed out earlier in March that all of the new storm impacts are adding to an already overwhelmed to-do list of repairs they're trying to make.

"We're still recovering from 2017," Santa Cruz County spokesperson Jason Hoppin said, "We've got roads that haven't been fixed from that storm so these things are kind of layering on top of each other."

Santa Cruz County is in the process of gathering preliminary damage information from county residents impacted by the storms to submit a case for state and federal funding.

The county is looking for residents impacted by the Feb. and March storms to report their damage in a survey to help them gather that information. To find out more, visit here.

3:30 p.m.
High winds keeping PG&E, tree service companies on alert of more falling trees

With more wind, PG&E and tree services are expecting more trees to fall again in Santa Clara County.

Staff was on hand at the Cupertino Operations Emergency Center Tuesday, at the ready as the 15th storm of 2023 blew through Bay Area.

The center is staffed 24/7 to support the restoration efforts in Santa Clara County due to storm damage. The calls for service have come often across the Bay Area.

"We've already removed about 4,000 trees that fell into our infrastructure in our service area and about 5,700 power poles and more than 900 miles of powerlines," PG&E Spokeswoman Mayra Tostado said. "That's a longer distance than going from Giants Stadium to Dodgers Stadium and back."

With more wind, PG&E and tree services are expecting more trees to fall again. San Jose tree service arborist Robert Apolinar says trees of all shapes, sizes and species fell victim to last Tuesday's high winds, including healthy trees. It's surprising to Apolinar to see heathy trees fall, but it highlights the strength of the winds we are seeing. He says to keep an eye out for splitting branches or leaning and diseased trees during the storm, like usual.

But with your healthier trees, cracks in the soil near the base of the trunk may show the tree is ready to come down and a crew needs to assess it.

3:03 p.m.
Car flies off freeway overpass in Benicia

Police are urging drivers to slow down when driving in slick roads. An SUV flew off the I-780 overpass onto East 5th Street in Benicia. Police say there were no injuries, and the area remains closed.

2:20 p.m.
Oakland Zoo to remain closed through Wednesday

The Oakland Zoo announced it will remain closed through Wednesday due to the storm.

Visitors who have reservations will be refunded automatically with no action needed.

12:30 p.m.
Part of Colma, Daly City closed due to flooding, police said

Southbound Junipero Serra Blvd between Southgate Ave. and Serramonte Blvd is closed due to flooding, Colma police said.

They are advising motorists to use alternate routes. There is no current ETA on reopening.

12 p.m.
Wind Advisory canceled for North Bay, but remains in effect for rest of Bay Area

A Wind Advisory has been canceled for the North Bay, according to ABC's Drew Tuma.

He says the strongest winds have exited. But the Wind Advisory is still in effect for the rest of the Bay Area.

11:50 a.m.
Wind Advisory issued for Carquinez Bridge

A Wind Advisory has just been issued for the Carquinez Bridge. due to the high winds.

A previous advisory was issued for the Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael, Benicia, Bay Bridge, Golden Gate and San Mateo bridges earlier this morning.

10:30 a.m.
Mission St. between Fremont St. and Beale closed until 1 p.m. due to concern of falling glass from wind, officials say

In Downtown San Francisco, with the high winds, people are being cautions as they make their way around the city.

The the last two storms broke windows and sent shattered glass raining down from high-rise buildings.

At Mission and Fremont, there are conditions are causing plenty of concern.

The Department of Building Inspection told ABC7's Amanda del Castillo it responded to a report of loose glass at 350 Mission (between Mission and Fremont St. just before 9 a.m.

They confirmed with ABC7 that there is no new glass coming loose and no glass on the street.

They said any loose glass seen at the site is from panels that were damaged last week.

The building engineer said the glass is scheduled to be replaced on Thursday, March 30, weather permitting.

Mission St. between Fremont St. and Beale St. will be closed until 1 p.m.

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