Friday, March 24, 2023

At my house: Hign winds, tree down, power line down

 

The above photo was taken from my front door way, you can see my arbor and the PG&E crew working during the storm. The crew is brave and the winds were as high as 80 MPH.
The photo above shows the power line that our neighbor's huge tree knocked off of the power pole when half of the tree crashed to the ground. On the left you can see the power line is still attached to my house but lying on the ground. This happened Tuesday March 21 at 1 p.m. I felt and heard the crash, it sounded like a bomb. The rest of their tree was in danger of falling onto the electric pole where the transformer was and PG&E acted quickly, and on Wednesday before 8 a.m. were at work cutting the top of the tree away from the pole. PG&E workmen installed a new transformer and I had power back by 5 p.m. and later that day a tree crew cut the tree to the ground. I rated PG&E as 10 out of 10, in the midst of this widespread storm with damage and floods throughout our county they accomplished all this for me and my neighbors.  

It is very stressful to be without power even for the 32 hours I experienced it. Today I am throwing out food from the freezer and refrigerator and of course saving what can be saved of the food. My friend in the nearby redwood forests is out of power for five days now. It is worse for her because her house is all electric. I have a gas water heater, gas heat and a gas stove top. They all work fine without electricity. So I don't complain too much!

This photo shows my neighbor's house and their tall old tree, my house is on the right. If you look closely you can see a giant part of the tree on the ground on the other neighbor's driveway. Sad to say but this dangerous situation of a falling tree knocking live power lines from the pole could have been avoided. I talked to the owner of that house a week ago and she said she asked permission from the city to remove the tree and they said no. Apparently it is a protected heritage tree. I should say was as it is gone now. The neighbor on the other side whose house was slightly damaged said he may sue the owner of the tree property and then that owner may sue the city. Storm damage, what a mess. I am celebrating having my power back on. I hope all of you are safe and well.


35 comments:

Mari said...

Wow - that was quite a storm. Glad you have your power back and everything is ok. Sad that the tree couldn't be taken down earlier and avoided the damage.

Chatty Crone said...

I am so glad your home was spared - I hate those kind of storms.

dori said...

What bad weather! Thanks goodness you were good sheltered. Poor old tree: It was not his puropse to fall down.But the place where he was standing was a too high risk. Hope there will be no fight between the neighbours, and that the assurance will pay. Good, that you had such a fast help. Hope your friend will have electricity soon!

Rian said...

Terra, I'm sorry your power was out, but glad there was no damage to your home. We too have some electric and some gas (water and stove are gas). And after the Arctic freeze that happened back in 2021, we now have a home generator as we really don't trust the Texas Grid.

Frugally challenged said...

So glad that you are safe despite everything

Susan Kane said...

Winds can be so destructive. The eucalyptus trees have come down around the community.

Marie Smith said...

I am glad you have power again. It was a costly outage though, losing food with today’s prices what they are.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Glad everybody's okay!

Wanda said...

Oh my, that's awfully close to home. Glad you are OK. Today was a delightful change of full sunshine. It was so welcome my dearest and I had lunch with friends. Finally able to get out of the house, and he was feeling strong.
More rain coming here on Tuesday!

Betsy said...

I feel badly for all of the people suffering from all of these storms. So glad that you have so many gas appliances and can carry on. Although your neighbors and your friend in the forest haven't fared as well. I have been praying for all affected and will continue to do so. Please stay safe.
Blessings and love,
Betsy

Linda said...

I love your attitude! Power outages bring out the pioneer spirit in us!!
You are hardier than I am, though! 32 hours is a LONG time!!

Miss Merry said...

I'm so sorry this happened to all in your neighborhood.

Granny Marigold said...

That must have been some weather!! Good to know you didn't have any damage to your house but too bad about the food that was spoiled when the power was out for so long. We have very tall evergreen trees on the lot behind us and when the wind is from the South we always think of what would happen if one of them blew down and landed on our house.
Stay safe and well, Granny Marigold

DawnTreader said...

That's a long time to be without electricity. Here in the city the power lines are under ground and I don't think during all my years living here we've been without power for more than a couple of hours or so. But I recall a bad winter storm some 20 years ago when my parents living out in the countryside were without power. They depended on electricity for heating of the house too and chose to drive into town and stay with me for a day.

Ann said...

That was some storm. Glad your power wasn't out any longer than it was. I don't know what to do with myself when the power goes out.
I sure wouldn't want to be those workers up there in that wind.

Valerie-Jael said...

Oh my, that was some storm, you must have been scared. Those workers were heroes to do the repairs under those dangerous conditions. Stay safe! Hugs, Valerie

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

Thankfully, nobody was injured! That is scary. Heritage trees are important, but need to be managed with common sense, not a lack if it.

Tabor said...

Todays storms in our Southeat area are horrrble. So many people lost their homes. Glad you had only afew days even though lost food is so expensive. Glad you are safe as well.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

That is so scary! I'm glad you weren't hurt. Take care!

Margaret D said...

Oh dear me, must have been some storm.
Glad you have your power back and not having it makes us appreciate it when we do have it.

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

That poor tree was just standing there all alone -- heritage or not, definitely could have used a good trim and a few more trees around it for stability. Unfortunately, a lot of the infrastructure that's in place is unable to withstand all the crazy wind and snow/thunder storms occurring more and more. Humans have wrecked havoc on the land and environment, that's for sure. Thankfully no real damage in your situation -- but many not so lucky. Had a friend in the UK message me that they heard news reports of major tornadoes in Mississippi and wondered if my family was okay. I had not even heard about the storms but turns out it was several hours from my mom and brother. An entire small town basically obliterated. Hard, sad times for a lot of people. Take care of yourself. Be well. Stay safe.

dori said...

I heard in our daily news, that new storms attack the region ..Stay safed! Best wishes from Dori. It must have been a very big crash, when the tree fell down in the storm.

Tom said...

We live in the rather tame environs of Philadelphia, but we still get power outages now and then. They are a bummer! Glad you survived with no permanent damage. And ... at least you didn't have to climb up in that charry picker in 80 mph winds!

Inger said...

If I remember correctly your beautiful town has been through a lot this year. I'm so sorry it has hit your home and neighborhood now. I'm so glad no tall trees live close to my house, as our area is very windy. The worst that happened from the storms here is a very muddy road about 1/8th of a mile long. It's been quite a challenge to get out and I was stuck at home for many days. I'm glad you and Bounce are OK and I so hope this crazy weather will soon be over.

R's Rue said...

Stay safe.

Jeanie said...

Oh my. I'm glad you are safe but nonetheless, that's just a lot to contend with. So glad the power returned. We've had an extended outage and it is no fun. Take care.

meandmysmallcorner said...

What a terrible storm. I am glad that you are ok and that you have power back now. I hope your friend gets power back soon. I am thinking of you all with the weather you are experiencing and hope it lets up soon. Take care x

DUTA said...

Storms, even mild ones, always scare me. Kudos to the tree cutters and the people that installed the power transformer! Power outages are definitely not fun.

Pam said...

Goodness me, how very trying. I'm glad you're connected again.

Thanks for your kind concern for my husband. He's been diagnosed with angina. We're getting old...But he seems to be fine (I hope).

baili said...

Oh that was dangerous indeed
i salute to the PG&E who came on time and worked during storm ?? wow that is worth medal job because of life threatening situation .

on the other hand how bad that company who refused to cut the tree before storm ,well people work in companies and their response reflects what kind of sense of responsibility they have

i am glad you are safe and fine dear Terra .congrats for the power back ,our stove works with gas so one side is safe if power goes for many days which happens during June and July so often due to AC load .
though we have solar system not for fridge but only for fans which helps lots in the absence of power

Vintage Reading said...

Glad you are all safe. I have a tree in my garden which I have stupidly let grow too big over the years. It's very expensive to get it cut down but I will havevto do it!

Share my Garden said...

Stressing times, glad not too much harm was done. We are surrounded by very high trees, a;; with a preservation order on them that means that they cannot be touched. High winds make me very nervous!

happyone said...

Not fun to be without power.
Lots of wind here too and we had a tree come down at our place and it just nicked the edge of the porch. Only damage was a dented railing and gutter. Husband outside now cutting the tree up. We got lucky.

magiceye said...

Phew... stay safe!

Pamela M. Steiner said...

Oh wow! That was a close call! So thankful your home was not damaged, but very sorry you lost so much food, and had to live w/o power for so long. I know that is uncomfortable in any season. There is so much terrible storm damage throughout our country right now. My heart goes out to those who have lost everything. Praying for our country on so many different fronts right now. Take care and praying you have a blessed and joyous Easter.