January 6, 2005

Party crasher: Mother Nature rings in the new year with a roar

By Carol Rosen
Editor

Mother Nature may have been tinkering with the weather a little early. Usually it’s March that either comes in or goes out like a lion. But the last day of 2005 went out like a lion as 2006 came roaring in.

Three views of the tree that closed Meridian Avenue. Below, a piece of the sound wall that came out with the tree. Above, Matthew Brumi, left, and his son Matt, a student at Castillero Middle School, survey the damage from the downed eucalyptus tree. Bottom: the huge tree covers all four lanes of Meridian Avenue.

Despite high winds and heavy rains, most people ended the year with the traditional countdown and champagne toasts. However, many didn’t get out to celebrate and people in some areas, typically not in the South Bay, couldn’t get out!

If Mother Nature’s desire was to get us all out to clean, she got her way. South Bay residents spent the early days of January cleaning and trying to stay out of the heavy rain. And, although the biggest news was the flooding in the North Bay, the South Bay made national news too with heavy winds knocking down trees and power lines while the intense soaking from the rain caused other trees to lose their footing.

One such tree fell across Meridian Avenue, just south of Dry Creek Road shutting off that main artery until crews could get out and cut it down late on Jan. 1. Other areas were luckier, but most roads were chock full of debris, and it was hard to drive 10 feet without crunching a small branch.

Record rainfall from a warm “Pineapple Express” series of storms resulted in a myriad of problems, including a breeched Solano County Levee on the Sacramento River, mudslides from Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz, and an overflowing Russian River that left Napa and Guerneville residents flooded out of their homes.

High winds, with gusts up to 60 miles per hour, blew through the Santa Clara Valley throughout New Year’s Day to be followed up by a drenching rainstorm that lasted most of Monday. Earlier fears that we would have a dry year were dispelled as rain gauges filled up and San Jose’s rain totals reached above normal for the season.

The storm left its mark on the Willow Glen and Cambrian areas in several forms—tree- and debris-covered roads, blown-over Christmas decorations and trees with limbs sheared off. The tree that fell on Meridian took with it a section of a concrete wall. At Husted and Booksin, outdoor ornaments lay on their sides or blown into weird positions. Part of a fir tree on Almaden covered two of the three lanes while debris made it hard to drive on Foxworthy.

The new year may have gotten off to a roaring start while Mother Nature tested our handiwork, but she couldn’t crush the spirit of goodwill in Willow Glen and Cambrian Park. At the end of the day, many found themselves rallying to the aid of neighbors with shovels, brooms and other equipment in hand—shoring up downed fences or assisting with fallen trees that left roads impassable and homeowners trapped.

A tree lays on its side in front of a home on Booksin.	A fir tree blocks two lanes on Almaden, luckily the weather was so awful that few people were out and traffic did not back up on New Year’s Day.
Decorations were blown askew throughout Willow Glen and Cambrian Park. Several reindeer and a sleigh were wind-tumbled while across the street	Candy canes and a Santa lay on their sides.