Chico residents saw power outages, fallen trees and road closures as a powerful storm slammed the city Sunday night.
The storm was part of the larger atmospheric river affecting most of California over the past couple of days according to the Associated Press.
Throughout most of Sunday, the city saw light to moderate rain and wind speeds that fluctuated between 3 and 12 mph.
Winds picked up after sunset, averaging in the high 20s and low 30s with gusts up to 44 mph.
The Chico Municipal Airport, which records weather conditions for the city, did not have data on the rainfall total for the city on Sunday. However, the nearby city of Oroville recorded 1.36 inches of rain.
The worst of the storm hit the city between 6 and 10 p.m. The Chico Fire Department responded to numerous calls involving fallen trees and power lines.
At the Wildcat Crossing apartments, Ian Peterson says he “encountered lots of fallen branches” when driving over to a friend’s house.
The fallen trees littered the city, resulting in multiple road closures and damaging several homes.
“There was a car accident outside the apartment complex … lots of police and firefighters driving around responding to calls,” Peterson said.
Thousands of residents also lost power, with over 11,000 PG&E customers experiencing outages.
Most of the residents experiencing power outages lived in west Chico. Students living on Nord Avenue reported being without electricity throughout most of the night.
“It was crazy, the power was out for over six hours,” freshman Bryce Kathan said.“The entire area surrounding UV [University Village] was also out of power and it was kind of eerie seeing such a large part of town out of power.”
As of 10:57 p.m. on Monday, around 1,000 customers in Chico were still without power.
The storm resulted in numerous road closures and collisions. The Orion has reached out to the Chico California Highway Patrol for information on weather-related crashes and is waiting for a response.
Steven Amador can be reached at [email protected].
