Initial damage assessment at my house : could have been worse! The dysfunctional gutter (not enough slope) has become a hyperfunctional gutter. Eucalyptus everywhere. At least everything else seems more or less OK.
Here is my Facebook post from the night of February 27-28:
This storm roaring in from the Pacific seems to be even windier than the big storm of January ‘08. Not much rain yet, but sure feisty!
The power went out, so dog-walk time came early - before midnight!
The eucalyptus tree next door has grown like a weed this last decade. Five years ago, during a storm, a big branch shredded off it and would have smashed my car had it been parked in the driveway (but it was away at the time).
Tonight, I put on my bike helmet and rain coat and headed out into the storm with Jasper. I immediately noticed that the eucalyptus tree is shredding some really big branches, some of which are in my yard, some in my driveway, and some in the alley. Surprisingly, even though a big branch is wedged in my hedge, and was suspended just above my truck’s windshield, there was no broken glass and everything seemed to be intact. I reparked the truck in the DMV parking lot. I dragged some of the tree branches into a pile so the garbage truck can get to the bins in the morning.
I saw a SMUD electric utility truck in the alley. We approached. The driver said, “Wait, wait, don’t tell me, your power is out! Love the bike helmet! Sure need it on a night like this. Ha, ha, ha!” I told him about the shredding eucalyptus. He said he’d look into it, but I don’t think he did.
Jasper and I walked around the block in the gale. We didn’t go further. I noticed a downed utility line. Probably not electrical, but better not to probe too closely.
I’m worried the eucalyptus tree might collapse tonight onto my bedroom. It’s kind of leaning that way. In order to avoid the not insignificant risk of great inconvenience or possibly instantaneous death, I will sleep on the couch in the living room instead.
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