San Francisco pummeled by high winds and rains from Sunday storm
Gusty winds from Sunday's massive storm caused all sorts of problems in San Francisco, from damaged roofs to downed power lines.
In fact, there were so many incidents first responders had to priority calls where people were trapped or possibly hurt.
In the Midtown Terrace neighborhood, a large branch fell onto two cars on Midcrest Way, crushing an Infiniti coupe and damaging a Nissan Pathfinder.
"I started by myself. Next thing you know, I had this little army of Midtown Terrace," said Patrick Vantk.
Vantk's partner owns the Nissan SUV. He tried to clear the debris. About eight neighbors jumped in to help.
"311 was inundated. We couldn't get through," said Vantk.
Neighbor Igor Ilyukhin brought over an electric chain saw. Others pulled branches away to clear a path for the SUV to get out.
"Basically, neighbors togetherness. We have help each other. Because today it happened to somebody, tomorrow it may happen to me," said Ilyukhin.
The San Francisco Fire Department said they responded to at least 200 storm-related calls on Sunday, mostly downed tree and lines.
Firefighters responded to Mendosa Avenue Sunday afternoon after gusty winds ripped out the roof from a sunroom. The homeowner said luckily no one was in the house at the time.
On Jones Street, several branches fell onto multiple cars. Many residents worried for their own safety as well.
"When it's super windy like this, I usually walk on the other side of the street just because the trees get really crazy," said neighbor Andrea Montroy.
Gusty winds also knocked out power and traffic lights for many neighborhoods.
For Vantk, not only was he able to drive his partner's SUV out from the fallen branches, he got to know his neighbors even better.
"This felt good. San Franciscans are strong and we have some really good neighbors right here," said Vantk.
City officials are asking for patience. Depending on the weather and resources, they said it may take up a few days to clear all of the downed trees across the city.
