What should Half Moon Bay and Coastside residents do when trees fall and power wires are down?

From tsunamis, tornadoes, hail, heavy rains and wind, Mother Nature is a force to contend with. Just in the last week, the Half Moon Bay area has experienced both a and hitting our coastline.

With State Highway 84 from Skyline Boulevard to Portola Road closed for almost six hours today due to fallen trees and live wires, the only thing Coastside residents can control is how prepared they are for such extreme weather conditions, said Ken Lord Fire, Captain for Coastside Fire and Cal Fire. When it comes to handling potentially dangerous conditions such as fallen trees and live wires, there’s a protocol to ensure safety that residents should follow.

For starters, one of the first things that everyone should do is create a Family Disaster Plan, said Lord. You should also create an Evacuation Plan for both your home and neighborhood. After you have completed these plans, you should put together an Emergency Supply Kit for the home, office and car. Details can be found at http://www.smcready.org/.

If a tree has fallen, Lord advises to stay away from it and “assume that there are wires around it even if it appears that just the tree fell,” he said.

Next, call 911 because the first call will go out to the fire department and “we’ll assess the situation and make the proper notifications,” explains Lord.

If the tree that fell is on your property, it’s the homeowner’s responsibility to clean up the damages but if the tree falls onto a street and is blocking the roadway, San Mateo County Roads should handle it.

“But again, call 911 and the fire department will handle the notification about who is the best to deal with the situation,” said Lord.

If there are wires involved, “never ever approach the line at all even if you know it’s a cable or television wire. Treat them all like a high-voltage PG&E wire,” said Lord.

Because of what Lord calls “step potential” the ground around the wires can become energized with electricity, so it’s important to not even get close.

“Maintaining situational awareness,” said Lord, when at home, is also important to do during extreme weather because of the possiblity that live wires or trees may come down at any time.

“Look around your house when you step outside so you don’t go out blindly unaware that there may be wires or trees branches coming down,” said Lord, who also reminds residents to never go into a stream of water no matter how small because “water carries a pretty good current,” he said.

Lord also recommends being prepared for long power outages with extra batteries, flashlights and radios on hand especially with storm winds threatening trees and power lines.

“It may take awhile especially in La Honda and on Kings Mountain,” said Lord, “for PG& E to respond to power outrages during a storm so again, it’s best to be prepared. Anything seems possible these days when it comes to the weather.”

For more information, go to www.co.sanmateo.ca.us or call the Office of Emergency Services at (650) 363-4000.