January 9, 2006

Party Crasher: Mother Nature rings in New Year with a roar

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

While 2005 ended with the traditional countdown, cheers and toasts Mother Nature crashed Saturday’s New Year festivities in ways only she could, leaving Bay Area residents cleaning up after her and making the national news.

High winds and record rain greeted the New Year and left scattered damage and debris around the Campbell area. The already saturated ground combined with the windy conditions made many trees especially susceptible to uprooting. Above: A tree fell on a car on Westmont Avenue. Photo by Julie Davis Berry

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.

In Campbell, residents awoke on New Year’s Day to uprooted trees, fallen fences and downed power lines following the latest storm that brought with it high winds and recorded 50-60 mph gusts.

The storm left its mark on Campbell in several forms with trees and debris covering roads (and in some instances cars and garages too).

The New Year may have gotten off to a roaring start and while Mother Nature tested our handiwork, she couldn’t crush the spirit of goodwill in Campbell. At the end of the day, many found themselves rallying to the aid of neighbors with hammers and chainsaws in hand—shoring up downed fences or assisting with fallen trees that left roads impassable and homeowners trapped.

Signboards were tossed around in the wind on Bascom Avenue. Photo by Julie Davis Berry	Downed tree on Hamilton Place, near De Loach Ct. Photo by Candy Richter