For nearly two weeks, City of Sacramento crews have been running non-stop in response to the ongoing storms, removing hundreds of downed trees, unclogging thousands of drains, repairing damaged traffic signals and answering other calls for service.
Since Dec. 31, the City has received more than 16,000 requests for service, according to 311.
Approximately 2,200 of these requests have involved downed trees and other urban forestry issues, said Ryan Moore, director of Public Works. To date, the City has responded to nearly 2,000 of these calls in some fashion.
“We are moving as fast as we can to safely and effectively respond to these calls for service,” Moore said. “In many situations, we will address a downed tree that is creating a safety issue or is blocking a roadway, and we will stack the debris to the side for later removal. We are doing that so we can get to the next call for service as quickly as possible. We hope the public will understand this approach and the volume of calls we are dealing with as the storms continue.”
The City was able to take advantage of the recent lull in the storms to make significant progress on its cleanup and recovery efforts, Moore said, and has benefitted greatly from the mutual-aid support provided by organizations such as Team Rubicon and others.
As yet another storm approaches, the City’s Department of Utilities continues its 24-hour watch of our levee system, the Department of Community Response continues its outreach efforts for its ongoing weather-respite centers, and Public Works continues its free sandbag service.
City crews will be operating around the clock throughout the weekend and into next week, monitoring the storm and responding as needed.
The National Weather Service is forecasting up to 2 inches of rain and wind gusts around 40 mph through early next week, with Saturday and Sunday being the strongest storm days.
