www.montereycountyweekly.com december 14-20, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 23 A large Monterey cypress proved too much for the main overhead transmission lines that carry electricity into Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach and Carmel. Amid high winds, the heavy tree, located just outside the fence at the Naval Postgraduate School along Del Monte Avenue, in Monterey uprooted and came crashing down the night of Thursday, March 9, pulling down poles that support the lines. In an instant, approximately 37,000 PG&E customers were cut off from the state’s power grid and left in the dark, one of the largest outages in the state that first day of a major storm. Crews worked around the clock for two days to replace the poles and get the lines up and running, restoring power to almost half of customers by Saturday, March 11, but the mess left behind by hundreds of downed trees— along power lines that feed off of the main line—proved a daunting task. Six days later, all but 8,000 customers had their power back. It would take around 12 days for every household to be restored. Exactly how many trees toppled during the storm and the days that followed is hard to say. Over 100 trees fell in one day alone in Pebble Beach, according to Mike Niccum, general manager of the Pebble Beach Community Services District. In Monterey, over 30 trees fell in the first couple of days of the storm, causing 12 street closures. Pacific Grove and Carmel saw dozens come down, as well. The sound of buzz saws roared throughout neighborhoods for days and even weeks afterward. While the coastline often steals the show, the Monterey Peninsula’s forest is a natural wonder in and of itself. Two of the most predominant trees—Monterey pine and Monterey cypress—are ancient and rare species native to the region. The forest is stunning in sunny weather, mysterious when shrouded in fog. Urbanization, drought and intense weather exacerbated by climate change have brought stress to the forest, and failure to some of its trees. With an El Niño weather pattern predicted for this coming winter and various storm preparations in place (see story, p. 14), what is the answer to keeping the lights on during the next big storm? The answers are not easy, and they are not cheap. I t’s a miracle no one was killed during the March 2023 storms, or the “bomb cyclone” that preceded it in January. After a series of storms through the winter, by the time March rolled in, perhaps trees on the brink had had enough in heavily saturated soil. One firefighter was injured by a falling tree in Pacific Grove. Several homes were severely damaged, including one in Carmel that saw its garage smashed to pieces. One house in P.G. wasn’t crushed, but it was damaged badly enough to force the family to move out. It remains empty Hundreds of trees fell on the Monterey Peninsula during last winter’s storms, leaving thousands of people in the dark and damaging homes. With another wet winter ahead, what can be done? By Pam Marino Del Monte Forest is a beautiful place to live (left) but it comes with challenges, especially during winter storms. Right, from top to bottom: A garage in Carmel was smashed by a tall Monterey pine during storms that took place in March 2023. Crews worked round-the-clock to remove fallen trees from around the Monterey Peninsula during and after the storms. A eucalyptus tree in Monterey fell across the Munras Avenue onramp to Highway 1 southbound, just below the Holman Highway exit during the same storms. Photos by Daniel Dreifuss
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