photo credit: Sonoma County Fire District
Emergency crews respond to a downed tree on Highway 101 northbound near
Todd Road on Sunday, February 4th, 2023.

The sun's starting to peek out, but this weekend's storm hit the North Bay hard.

The weekend storm front delivered over six inches of rain in a few spots, and brought even more destructive winds, giving maintenance crews and first responders a tall order to start the week, said Karen Hancock from the Sonoma County Fire District.

"We're no longer seeing the winds and sideways rain, but our crews are still out there working alongside County Roads [crews], CHP, Caltrans, utility crews, to help clear those roadways," Hancock said. "There still are a lot of trees down and a lot of power lines down and a lot of debris in the roadway."

The Sonoma County Fire District covers much of the northern half of the county between Napa County and the coast.

Hancock said the middle of the district is particularly hard hit.

"There are still many power lines down along kind of that Forestville - Russian River corridor, many people without power" Hancock said. "We also still have some of our nuisance flooding and pond-ing on some of those trouble spots out in the area; specifically between Forestville and Windsor area."

Hancock said Sunday had no shortage of incidents.

"We actually had 166 storm related calls, not including medical calls that we go to as well," Hancock said. "So it was a very busy day."

Wwhile no deaths have been reported, Hancock said one driver on Sunday had a close brush.

"There was a large tree that came down across Highway 101 northbound, just north of Todd Road, and we had to transport a patient to the hospital because the tree landed on the vehicle." Hancock said.

Even with the storm passed, Hancock recommended staying off the road if you can.

"Any unnecessary travel, please avoid," Hancock said. "There are a lot of hazards out there, and sometimes trees, they don't necessarily just fall down when it's windy, but after an event like the one that we've had, a lot of the trees could still be compromised, so please stay alert out there."

"Stay informed," Hancock said. "Follow your official channels. Don't touch any power lines that are down or any lines for that matter. Assume that they're all live. Turn around, don't drown. Be on high alert and stay safe out there."