Northern California winds topple trees, spread outages and raise wildfire concerns
By Denzen Cortez
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SACRAMENTO COUNTY, California (KCRA) — Strong winds swept across Northern California over the weekend, toppling trees, knocking out power to thousands and fueling fast-moving fires across the region.
“Any time we see winds of this magnitude, that definitely can impact outages,” SMUD spokesperson Sophia Gutierrez told KCRA 3.
The winds scattered downed trees and branches across Sacramento County, leaving utility crews responding to outages in multiple neighborhoods. At one point Sunday morning, SMUD reported nearly 17,000 customers without power in Sacramento County.
The windy conditions also heightened fire danger under Red Flag warnings issued for parts of Northern California. Along Watt Avenue, a vegetation fire burned about three acres and threatened nearby buildings before crews stopped the forward spread.
“We’ve already seen multiple fires just today alone in our county, and have really pressed our resources,” Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Battalion Chief Parker Wilbourn told KCRA 3.
Fire officials said the department accelerated staffing plans because of the dangerous conditions, bringing in additional resources earlier than expected, including helicopters and bulldozers.
“We’ve actually went ahead and put those in today to make sure that we’re fully outfitted and fully capable to meet the needs today with these high winds,” Wilbourn said.
Officials are also urging residents to stay away from downed power lines, warning that strong winds can bring lines down and spark fires.
SMUD encouraged customers experiencing outages to report them through the utility’s mobile app or outage map online, where residents can also monitor restoration updates.
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