Bay Area Residents Prepare for More Rain and Strong Winds

This winter seems to be endless for many families, especially those living in the Santa Cruz Mountains who have been hit by long power outages with little to no interruption.

Some say they’ve had more power outages in the past few weeks than power days, and PG&E says they’re preparing to respond by loading substations near neighborhoods with all the tools they’ll need before the storm.

“The mountain has been humming with generators for weeks now,” Julie said.

She and her neighbors in Los Gatos say they are mentally prepared if a repeat of last week happens: a storm with wild winds, extended power outages and a lot of damage.

But at the same time, she says they are fed up.

“Everything is so expensive this winter,” Julie said.

She constantly refills her propane tank, maintains a leaking generator, and fixes all tree damage.

“It cost us about $12,000 and it’s not over yet,” Julie said.

Two houses away, Mike Miller is still trying to fix a fence damaged by the last hurricane. And now he’s wondering if Tuesday’s wind will leave them again without power and water.

“The water company here is based on using a pump to supply water to the systems upstairs, which is powered by a generator that uses propane, and propane supplies are difficult to secure right now,” Miller said.

PG&E says it is learning from past storms and doing everything it can to prevent another cycle of prolonged outages.

Chief Meteorologist Jeff Ranieri has the latest timeline for a new storm that should bring more rain and wind in your 7-day microclimate forecast.

“We are going to attract teams from other regions, last time we brought mutual assistance, it remains to be decided whether we need it at this stage,” said Tamar Sargsyan from PG&E.

PG&E said it is stockpiling equipment at its local shipyards and is concentrating on the South Bay, Peninsula and Central Coast.

“As these storms occur, we are changing our equipment and in many cases we can strengthen the system,” Sargsyan said.