Photo by Monique Schoenfeld/ Town Crier
Los Altos librarian Larry Condit takes a break Feb. 3 to observe the fallen limb of a 100-year-old oak tree at the History House. The limb fell from the high winds Feb. 2.
Town Crier Staff Writer
As the storm raged through the afternoon and into the night Feb. 2, winds blew down a History House 100-year-old oak, mud oozed into streets in several parts of town, water flooded Woodland Library and city crews worked through the night
"I've been here 29 years," said Bruce Bane, public works director for Los Altos, "and this may have been the worst flooding in 29 years."
The storm last Saturday and Sunday, "was pretty wet," Bane said, "but not as bad" as the one Feb. 2.
Carol Tefft, head librarian in Los Altos, was out in the storm at 2 a.m. Feb. 3, slogging through knee-high, cold, muddy water, piling sandbags around the doors at the Los Altos library branch on Fremont Avenue.
"We have a berm around the library," she said. "That saved us." But when she opened the door to go inside, "the water rushed in" and covered the carpeted floor.
On Thursday, industrial-strength commercial fans blew warm air throughout the library creating a moist, sauna feel. All books had been moved off the bottom shelves and were stacked on counters and carts as workers tried to save the carpet.
Unfortunately, the library will be closed another six to eight weeks. The carpet could not be saved and must be replaced, said a library spokesman.
Bonnie Natsuhara, adult program director for the library, wasn't sure where all the water came from. The library is not on a creek.
Bane said there's "a fairly large drainage area above (the library) - the St. Joseph area in the Highlands. It's still not resolved if there was a plugged storm drain. The drainage area also includes portions of the freeway."
The water, as it ran off, "'ponded' and went over the (Foothill) Expressway, which was closed for several hours," Bane said.
The storm drain in the library parking lot is "designed for parking lot drainage," Bane said, "but couldn't deal with" all the water from the storm.
Some residents behind the library on Holt Avenue experienced flooding, police said.
Before the late night torrential rains began, winds wreacked havoc beginning about 3 p.m. Feb. 2.
The enormous oak behind History House split in two. The cables holding together the majestic tree gave way and half the tree crashed. It missed History House, it missed the sheds in back, but the sign telling of the fund-raising campaign for the Education Center at History House lost a leg and now leans into a shed.
A large oak, at 40 Main St., also toppled in the storm.
On Morton Avenue in the southern end of town, the rear windshield of a Volvo exploded from the inside out.
"It sprayed all over the driveway and in every direction," said Martin Schwartz, owner of the Volvo.
"I looked for a tree branch. But there was no sign of any object hitting the car," he said. "You could tell it blew out because of the glass that was rounded out."
Schwartz said he noticed circular winds blowing in his backyard about 3 p.m. He theorized that the winds created a low pressure that moved through his yard, past his car, and caused the explosion.
A neighbor driving by in the rain noticed the windshield was gone. She stopped and alerted Schwartz who was then able to move his car into the garage.
In the north end of town, neighbors shoveled mud from where Adobe Creek had overflowed.
"There's a massive amount of mud in the road," said Blue Oak Lane resident Julie Kohl. The street was "passable, just messy.
"It's nice these guys are out there doing that, just being good citizens," she said.
Adobe Creek also flooded up into Shoup Park and Redwood Grove, Bane said.