Fresno official: ‘All of our people are out’ as storm winds cause numerous power outages

Winds driving a storm front through the central San Joaquin Valley Thursday knocked down trees and caused numerous power outages, authorities reported.

Mark Standriff, a spokesman for the City of Fresno, said city workers were checking streets for trouble areas and were responding to numerous active calls, including 10 trees blocking roadways.

“All of our people are out,” Standriff said.

The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory until 4 p.m.

PG&E reported as of 3 p.m. that 4,317 customers in the Fresno Division were without power.

Large trees fell throughout the region during the afternoon, as roots gave way in ground saturated by recent heavy rains.

At Yosemite Avenue just north of Belmont Avenue, a massive tree gave way in a back yard and fell on a neighboring house. Police reported at least one person sustained minor injuries in the incident.

Another tree fell in a Fresno High playing field, but no injuries were reported in that incident.

The threat of flooding at Bass Lake, meanwhile, will linger, according to PG&E, as the lake sat just six inches below Crane Valley Dam’s spillage level Thursday afternoon.

This story was originally published February 14, 2019 at 1:27 PM.