High winds cause wild weekend weather, damage in Citrus Heights

Updated Feb. 8, 5:03 p.m.–
By Sara Beth Williams– Thousands of Citrus Heights residents experienced weather-related incidents over the weekend, during an atmospheric river that dumped rain and brought damaging high winds throughout California.

Power outages affected more than 10,000 customers in Citrus Heights, according to SMUD outage maps on Sunday afternoon and into Sunday evening. A utility district press release dated Feb. 5, said an estimated 200,000 customers in the Sacramento region experienced a power outage during the height of the storm on Sunday, Feb. 4.

On Monday morning, several schools within the San Juan Unified School District were listed as without power, including Arlington Heights Elementary in Citrus Heights, according to school district notifications online. Local residents on social media reported traffic lights out at Sunrise and Antelope early Monday morning. According to Sentinel staff observation, traffic lights were observed flashing at Antelope and Garden Gate Drive, and at Chatham Way and Auburn Boulevard on Monday.

Residents in various areas of the city still reported being without power on Monday morning, with that number dropping to about 230 customers by Tuesday afternoon. Several residents posted photos of downed trees and fallen branches, including a fallen tree on Birdcage Street posted on a local Facebook group, and another photo of a tree which had fallen onto a car port at the Montage at Fair Oaks apartments, near Greenback Lane. Residents also reported downed fences.

According to Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District and local news reports, the roof of a local Citrus Heights Dollar Tree collapsed around 3 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 5. Branches from trees could be seen strewn along many streets around the city.

Citrus Heights weather data reported at localconditions.com shows sustained winds reached 20 miles per hour by 10:35 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 4 and increased steadily throughout the afternoon, reaching a highest sustained wind of 42 miles per hour after 6 p.m. One of the highest wind gusts recorded Sunday evening reached 59 miles per hour in Citrus Heights.

A similar series of atmospheric rivers in early 2023 brought severe structural damage and flooding across the city and county, toppling trees, downing power lines, and leaving some residents without power for multiple days. Strong winds during that storm knocked down a large tree at Sylvan Cemetery, which crushed a portion of the cemetery’s stone wall and blocked lanes across Auburn Boulevard, according to a previous Sentinel report in 2023.

City spokeswoman Marisa Brown said staff were compiling data on the impact of Sunday’s storm in Citrus Heights, with details not immediately available, as of Tuesday afternoon.

According to a SMUD news release issued Monday night, the utility district currently had more than 80 crews working around-the-clock, addressing over 75 fallen power poles, and over 430 fallen live wires.

*This story has been updated with a caption stating that neighbors helped remove the fallen tree, rather than a tree crew.