Crews working to restore power to South Bay residents after wind storm

LOS GATOS, Calif. (KGO) -- Gusting winds knocked down trees and power lines in the South Bay Monday morning where thousands of residents lost power.

PG&E crews are working feverishly to get power restored to the last of the customers who lost electricity.

Strong wind caused street signs to swing, debris to fly, and it knocked over branches into power lines. There were piles of pine needles on Lark Avenue in Los Gatos that created an obstacle course for cars.

VIDEO: Gusty winds knock down trees, power lines in South Bay

The CHP got creative on San Tomas Expressway in Campbell by using a flat-bed tow truck to push a tree limb off the roadway.

PG&E said 11,000 customers were without power in the South Bay at the peak of the wind storm that occurred between 2:30 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.

Several stoplights at major intersections, including the one on Winchester Boulevard and Moorpark Avenue in San Jose were out.

Bowers Elementary School on Barkely Avenue in Santa Clara had to re-route traffic for drop-off. "We got a text from the school today to walk if you can because of a huge tree," Santa Clara resident Patty Adams said.

A massive tree split in half, knocking down a low voltage line right in front of the school. "There was no damage anywhere else. There's just leaves and brush and that's about it," Bowers Elementary School Principal Lisa Blanc said.

Not far away on Kiely Boulevard and Forbes Avenue, more branches blew over into the road.

There were 18 trees that went down in Santa Clara during the wind storm.

It was an unusual morning, but thankfully no major injuries were reported.

"It sounded like a little mini-hurricane. Nothing like Florida, but it was really windy and nothing like I heard before," Adams said.

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