Windy New Year's Eve sends trees toppling, Bay Area crews scrambling
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- This New Year's Eve will be remembered as one of the windiest in the Bay Area. Heavy gusts caused trees to fall, along with a few downed power lines.
The wind toppled garbage bins, sending trash onto the street near San Francisco's Embarcadero.
But, it was waters of the bay that really showed the intensity of the winds, keeping kite surfers away from the shore in Brisbane. The only ones riding the waves were ducks.
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It was only a matter of time before emergency calls started to come in regarding fallen trees.
"Anytime the fire department calls, it's priority, so we ran here first," said a PG&E worker.
PG&E crews responded to a few calls in the East Bay including this one of a tree leaning on wires on Judy Street in Castro Valley.
One of the cities most affected by the wind was Fremont, which had a few trees and branches down.
"The winds today this morning was very bad. I can't even imagine how the entire tree got uprooted and fell down," said Bhargav Ganti, a Fremont resident.
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A tree blocked several lanes of traffic on Liberty Street, forcing drivers to use the only open lane.
"I think it's a hazard. Someone really needs to be here like a police to get it out of the way, expressed Geet Walia, also of Fremont.
Many city services remain closed for the holidays. Staffing for emergency maintenance services is at a minimum.
For the eternal optimist, these strong winds may mean that their life is headed in the right direction.
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"So maybe by getting it out of the way now and we have a new year to follow," said another Fremont resident who only wanted to be identified as Stephen.
A Wind Advisory is in effect until 9 p.m. at least for the San Francisco Bay shoreline, with gusts of around 45 mph. A Wind Advisory is in effect for the mountains and hills above 1,000 feet until 10 a.m. Tuesday morning.
ABC7 Meteorologist Mike Nicco says the breezes relax at lower elevations tonight while they continue in our hills and mountains. This leads to a wide range of lows for the first morning of 2019
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