West San Jose Resident

News

Rough weather highlights the need for preparation

By Stephen Baxter

Wild wind and sheets of rain swept through San Jose neighborhoods in a series of storms that began on Jan. 3. By Jan. 7, 2.63 inches of rain had fallen at Mineta San Jose International Airport, and gusts of 51 mph punched down trees and snapped power lines.

"At the end of the day, this is a 50-year storm, and the reason the power went out is because of Mother Nature," said City Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio. "I can't think of the number of people who came up to me and said we need to be more prepared."

Oliverio plans to gather firefighters, police, Pacific Gas & Electric representatives and others to talk about emergency preparedness. The meeting is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 2, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Willows Senior Center at 2175 Lincoln Ave.

On the Guadalupe River near downtown, San Jose firefighters rescued four men who were trapped by rushing water. Firefighters in an inflatable zodiac boat paddled to reach a stranded person near the Taylor Street bridge, said San Jose Fire Capt. Barry Stallard.

One of the rescued men received medical attention at a hospital while another just rode off on his bike, he said.

Stallard added that the department was relatively quiet compared with public works and utilities workers dealing with fallen trees.

"Everyone needs to be prepared for losing power for an extended period of time. People should have flashlights, food, water, warm clothing and any kind of medications they may need," Stallard said.

Firefighters and PG&E representatives said to use lanterns and flashlights to light homes rather than candles, because they can cause fires.

By Jan. 7 at 11 a.m., PG&E spokesman Keely Wachs said only 229 San Jose residents were without power, mostly in outlying areas with bad road access.

"We're doing our best to get that cleared," he said.

In times of poor weather, utility workers sometimes shut down electrical grids so that pieces can be repaired. The most typical cause of an outage are trees or tree limbs that disconnect power lines in high winds, as well as snapped utility poles. PG&E's 600 crews also were preparing for a new storm on Jan. 8, Wachs said.

Downed power lines should never be touched, and residents can alert authorities by calling 911 and then the PG&E hotline at 1.800.PGE.5002.