UPDATES: Bay Area Christmas storm brings downed trees, power outages, road closures

Major cleanup and repairs are underway on the Peninsula. A tornado warning for parts of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties meant a lot of residents were hit hard by intense winds.

Major cleanup and repairs are underway on the Peninsula.

A tornado warning for parts of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties meant a lot of residents were hit hard by intense winds.

This is a Christmas holiday many residents won't forget.

Michael Mace of El Granada got some bad news on Christmas Day.

"When I got here, it was way worse than I even thought," said Mace.

A neighbor called to tell Mace that a cypress tree came down at his home.

"It was a domino effect. This big tree over here as you could see came down, took out a utility pole; that came down. It brought the other utility pole down," said Rob Robertson of El Granada.

The tree destroyed three of Mace's vehicles. But, that's not all.

"Then the telephone pole fell on this pickup," said Mace.

The tree came within a foot of hitting Mace's house. Fortunately, no one was home at the time.

"Everyone came out of this unscathed pretty much," said Robertson.

A short distance away, another close call in El Granada.

"It's just scary. I'm glad it didn't do more damage," said Eliana Torres.

Torres wasn't home when a tree came crashing into her apartment around 6 p.m. on Christmas.

"It didn't do any damage on the inside; thankfully it just hit the corner. And there's no water damage inside," said Torres.

Extreme winds battered the San Mateo County coast Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

"Up to 60 miles per hour gusts," said Dan Haggerty.

"The winds were incredible. It was crazy weather. We had hail yesterday, lightening, and thunder. It's crazy," said Ana Doria, a Montara resident.

Doria says a huge cypress tree snapped in half and almost hit her daughter's apartment on Christmas Eve.

"She sees this huge tree coming her way and it just missed her," said Doria.

A number of people in Montara and El Granada are still without power. This, as crews work to repair downed power lines and remove debris from fallen trees.

Residents say the outages and extensive damage done raise big concerns about who's responsible for taking care of (risky) trees.

"Powerlines should be underground, and big trees shouldn't be next to houses," said Doria.

An evacuation warning has been issued for parts of Sonoma County due to "extreme tree fall potential risk," county officials said Friday evening.

The following areas are under the evacuation warning:

• 21458 Alpine Terrace, Monte Rio, CA 95462

• 21429 Alpine Terrace, Monte Rio, CA 95462

• 21455 Delta Way, Monte Rio, CA 95462

Officials are advising the public to be prepared to evacuate if conditions worsen. For the latest updates, click here.

All four bores of the Caldecott Tunnel are now open to drivers after partial closure due to transformer damage amid the storms, Caltrans said Friday.

All four bores of the Caldecott Tunnel are now open to drivers after partial closure due to transformer damage amid the storms, Caltrans said Friday.

Rain from this week's downpour got into the room where the transformers are, causing electrical damage. Caltrans shut down Bore 1, head eastbound, and Bore 3, headed westbound, on Wednesday as they did not have electricity or the power to run the ventilation system.

Caltrans says there is no structural damage to any of the tunnels. But its crews are still working to assess the electrical damage. And whether they can just repair or if they have to replace the damaged transformers.

"If we have to replace the transformers that will be a significant effort. Because they are pretty big. And we have figure out how to get them out. That will be a more long-term solution," explains Ney.

Caltrans says SR-24 is back at full capacity. The tunnels are being powered by a temporary generator until the repairs can be made.

Heavy rains and strong winds from powerful winter storms this week brought the wettest Christmas season to Southern California in years, triggering widespread mudslides and debris flows and leaving homes halfway filled with mud.

A falling tree killed a San Diego man Wednesday, news outlets reported. Farther north, a Sacramento sheriff's deputy died in what appeared to be a weather-related crash.

A 70-year-old woman was killed in Mendocino, California Monday after being swept away by a large wave and a 74-year-old man was killed in Redding, California after being swept away by flood waters Sunday.

Get the full story here.