Fallen trees damage homes, block streets across Sacramento following storm

Strong winds from Saturday night’s storm knocked down trees across the Sacramento region, causing damage to several vehicles and homes in the area.A tree fell onto Joseph Montiel’s home, which is in the Rosemont area of ​​Sacramento County. Montiel said neighbors told him the tree went down just moments after he and his pregnant wife had left their home to go to the store Saturday evening.”We just happened to be really lucky that we left three minutes earlier,” Montiel said.The front of Montiel’s home is destroyed, but he is counting his blessings that no one was hurt. Still, with a baby due in just a few weeks, he said he wants to pick up the pieces as fast as possible.”I’m frustrated, but I feel lucky,” Montiel said. “I’m just trying to look at the timeline of when we’ll be able to return here and live a normal life again, without going, living in someone’s spare room or living in a hotel.”Sacramento’s River Park neighborhood dealt with a big mess Sunday on New Year’s Day. Neighbors said a 100-foot tree fell on two homes.In Midtown, a massive tree fell just inches away from some homes and apartments on E Street, between 14th and 15th streets. Joseph Boniwell said he saw the tree right outside his home after returning from out of town.”It’s completely obstructing the roadway and the walkway for pedestrians. It’s caused a little bit of damage, so it’s surprising. We see tree damage every season in Sacramento , but we haven’t had a massive fall like this on this street yet,” Boniwell said. “Hopefully, this isn’t an omen for 2023, and maybe this is as bad as it gets. We can only go up from coming home to a tree in your front yard!”There was no significant destruction to the structures in the area , but at least two cars were damaged because the tree fell directly on top of them. A similar scene was found on G Street, between 15th and 16th streets, where at least one car was damaged by a tree that is now blocking the roadway. Boniwell decided to bring out some tools and clip the branches that were blocking the sidewalk along E Street.”I just want to clear the walkway a little bit and clear access to our mailbox, so that the postal service can keep getting to peoples’ stuff , and maybe create less of a hazard while we wait for the city to catch up,” Boniwell said. “The city and county are busy across the region right now.”KCRA 3 reached out to the City of Sacramento for an idea of ​​when many of the fallen trees would be cleared from roadways, but we did not hear back as of Sunday night. A spokesperson for Sacramento County told KCRA 3 that their clean up crews immediately respond to reports of downed trees as soon as they come into 311, but pointed out that crews will be busy for a couple days due to Saturday’s storm.The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department said they responded to around a dozen trees that fell into homes within their jurisdiction.Captain Parker Wilbourn said the good news was that there were no injuries reported.While there is still no estimated time for when trees will be cleared from the roadways, Wilbourn said there is a massive coordination effort currently underground.”All of our public safety agencies throughout the county have come together, and we meet twice a day, just to make sure that we’re in strategic alignment,” W ilbourn said. “We want to make sure that all of our resources are aligned so that we are providing a high level of service to the community we serve.” Still, for many across the region, their minds were still focused on the storm that caused all the damage. They called it unnerving.”Mayhem, chaos, terror. It was like Mother Nature came alive and declared war on Sacramento,” Sacramento resident Aaron Grace said. “Mother Nature just reminding us once again: she’s the boss, applesauce.”

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Strong winds from Saturday night’s storm knocked down trees across the Sacramento region, causing damage to several vehicles and homes in the area.

A tree fell onto Joseph Montiel’s home, which is in the Rosemont area of ​​Sacramento County. Montiel said neighbors told him the tree went down just moments after he and his pregnant wife had left their home to go to the store Saturday evening.

“We just happened to be really lucky that we left three minutes earlier,” Montiel said.

The front of Montiel’s home is destroyed, but he is counting his blessings that no one was hurt. Still, with a baby due in just a few weeks, he said he wants to pick up the pieces as fast as possible.

“I’m frustrated, but I feel lucky,” Montiel said. “I’m just trying to look at the timeline of when we’ll be able to return here and live a normal life again, without going, living in someone’s spare room or living in a hotel.”

Sacramento’s River Park neighborhood dealt with a big mess Sunday on New Year’s Day. Neighbors said a 100-foot tree fell on two homes.

In Midtown, a massive tree fell just inches away from some homes and apartments on E Street, between 14th and 15th streets. Joseph Boniwell said he saw the tree right outside his home after returning from out of town.

“It’s completely obstructing the roadway and the walkway for pedestrians. It’s caused a little bit of damage, so it’s surprising. We see tree damage every season in Sacramento, but we haven’t had a massive fall like this on this street yet,” Boniwell said. “Hopefully, this isn’t an omen for 2023, and maybe this is as bad as it gets. We can only go up from coming home to a tree in your front yard!”

There was no significant destruction to the structures in the area, but at least two cars were damaged because the tree fell directly on top of them. A similar scene was found on G Street, between 15th and 16th streets, where at least one car was damaged by a tree that is now blocking the roadway. Boniwell decided to bring out some tools and clip the branches that were blocking the sidewalk along E Street.

“I just want to clear the walkway a little bit and clear access to our mailbox, so that the postal service can keep getting to peoples’ stuff, and maybe create less of a hazard while we wait for the city to catch up,” Boniwell said. “The city and county are busy across the region right now.”

KCRA 3 reached out to the City of Sacramento for an idea of ​​when many of the fallen trees would be cleared from roadways, but we did not hear back as of Sunday night. A spokesperson for Sacramento County told KCRA 3 that their clean up crews immediately respond to reports of downed trees as soon as they come into 311, but pointed out that crews will be busy for a couple days due to Saturday’s storm.

The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department said they responded to around a dozen trees that fell into homes within their jurisdiction. Captain Parker Wilbourn said the good news was that there were no injuries reported. While there is still no estimated time for when trees will be cleared from the roadways, Wilbourn said there is a massive coordination effort currently underway.

“All of our public safety agencies throughout the county have come together, and we meet twice a day, just to make sure that we’re in strategic alignment,” Wilbourn said. “We want to make sure that all of our resources are aligned so that we are providing a high level of service to the community we serve.”

Still, for many across the region, their minds were still focused on the storm that caused all the damage. They called it unnerving.

“Mayhem, chaos, terror. It was like Mother Nature came alive and declared war on Sacramento,” Sacramento resident Aaron Grace said. “Mother Nature just reminding us once again: she’s the boss, applesauce.”