GILROY
– Lightning ignited a palm tree on Orchard Drive and struck
electrical wires at a Shell gas station near The Garlic Farm off
Monterey Highway as thunder-riddled electrical storm passed through
Gilroy in the dead of night.
GILROY – Lightning ignited a palm tree on Orchard Drive and struck electrical wires at a Shell gas station near The Garlic Farm off Monterey Highway as thunder-riddled electrical storm passed through Gilroy in the dead of night.
The storm blacked out 6,201 Gilroy homes.
Gilroy Fire Department Capt. Tim Price said fire crews were not as busy as they could have been given the severity of the electrical storm that generated numerous bolts of lightning and blasts of thunder while dropping just one-hundredth of an inch of rain.
The National Weather Service said low pressure form the northwest and an unstable air mass from the south combined with the high level of moisture in the air caused the storm.
“I wouldn’t say it’s cataclysmic, but for all those features to come together at the same time around this time of year is unusual,” weather service forecaster Diana Henderson said.
There were no vehicle accidents during the storm or afterward when power remained out around parts of Gilroy.
“If there’s a good time for something like this to happen, it’s when everyone is safe inside their homes,” Price said. “If this happened in rush hour, there would be the potential for something much worse.”
At 11:20 p.m. Monday, Gilroy firefighters responded to calls that a palm tree at 7350 Orchard Drive had caught fire after being hit by lightning. Price said fire crews responded and were able to contain the blaze to the tree, which is still standing.
“It was in the yard, so we were able to keep it from spreading,” Price said. “We’re heading out there again this morning to make sure it’s not smoldering.”
Price said electrical wires nearby were not affected by the palm tree fire.
Electrical wires did take a blow at the Shell gas station. At roughly 11:30 p.m., lightning hit a set of wires, downing them, Price said.
No fire ensued and there was no damage to nearby buildings, Price said.
Pacific Gas & Electric spokesman Jeff Smith said power to 440 customers was still out as of 8:45 this morning. About 400 of the customers are in the south end of Gilroy near U.S. 101 and Pacheco Pass around the San Benito County border.
The Hilton Garden Inn, at 6070 Monterey St., lost power at 11:30 p.m., but regained it by 2:30 in the morning. Although a few guests came to the lobby after the power outage, most people slept through it, said Paula Hutchison, general manager of the hotel.
“We were very pleased with how quickly PG&E responded,” Hutchison said.
The power outage caused some stoplights to blink red, forcing commuters to treat them as four-way stops.
Caltrans and city signal maintenance crews were dispatched to the intersections of Luchessa and Monterey, Alexander and Tenth Street, and Wren and First Street this morning. The timing of the signal at Santa Teresa Boulevard and First Street was disrupted and the signal at Santa Teresa Boulevard and Club Drive was also blinking red, causing a back-up for those heading to Ascencion Solorsano Middle School on Tuesday morning, the second day of the new school year.
Gilroy firefighters experienced radio communication problems due to the storm, but are on portable radios now.
“We had some problems, but nothing that would inhibit us from doing our job,” Price said.
