Severe weather has already impacted much of the country in 2023. California, in particular, is getting some of the worst weather it has seen in years. The Sacramento area has seen so much damage from storms that capradio recently published an article, High winds knocked down a tree at or near where you live? Here are some do’s and don’ts. Many apps powered by GOGov are featured in the article.

The high winds accompanying the storm systems moving through the Sacramento region haven’t just caused power outages, due to downed power lines. They’ve also felled trees, which has already proven deadly.

With consistent rain saturating the soil, “it actually takes less for some of these big trees to come down,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Cory Mueller on Insight Monday. “Those winds [from the weekend] were very effective and caused tons of issues across the area.”

Insurance companies are seeing those issues: For example, Californians have already filed over 6,000 home and auto insurance claims to State Farm, beginning with the aftermath of the inclement weather during New Year’s weekend. State Farm representative Amy Harris said as of Tuesday, Sacramento County makes up most of those claims, at around 1,400.

“The other top counties are Los Angeles, Alameda and San Joaquin,” she said. “It’s just been catastrophic across the state.”

There have also been over 1,000 reports of downed trees in the city of Sacramento since the New Year’s storm. City spokesperson Gabby Miller said in the 48 hours between Saturday and Monday, Sacramento had gotten around 500 reports of downed trees — the number it usually gets in a month.

Miller said the city will address “life safety” trees and concerns first, then move on to clearing roadways. If a private homeowner’s tree falls on their house, she said, it’s their responsibility to address it. And, she added, a full clean-up is going to take time.

“This is going to take a matter of weeks for us to fully see the entire city cleaned up,” Miller  said. “We're asking for patience everywhere across the city.”

So what should you do — and not do — if a tree falls onto your house, apartment or car?

DO: Report the downed tree.

Here are the numbers for Sacramento, San Joaquin and Yolo counties:

Sacramento County: Call 311 or report damage via the 311 website.

Yolo County: Call 211.

San Joaquin County:

• Tracy: Call 209-831-6300 or, if after hours, 209-831-6550. Reports can also be made via the GoRequest app or by emailing publicworks@cityoftracy.org.
• Stockton: Call 209-937-8341.
• Lathrop: Call Public Works at 209-941-7430 or Maintenance Services (streets, roads and parks) at 209-941-7372 or, if after hours, 209-992-0028. Reports can also be made via the website and the Lathrop Cares app (iPhone | Android)
• Lathrop Irrigation District: Residents in the River Islands Master Planned Community can call 209-888-4799 or, if after hours, 209-561-1428.
• Lodi: Call 209-368-5735 (choose option 2).
• Manteca: Call 209-456-8101. Reports can also be made via the City of Manteca GoGov app (iPhone | Android)
• Unincorporated County: Call 209-468-3074.

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