Massive clean up effort following overnight storm

It was an early wakeup call after Friday night’s storm tore down trees in front of Ed Ciliberti’s home.

“We heard trees coming down. We heard branches falling on the roof and we knew things were really bad,” said Ciliberti.

Ciliberti said it was the worst storm he has seen since moving here, 13 years ago.

Gusts up to 65 miles per hour snapped trees, downed power lines, and damaged home. This was round two of what’s been a stormy new year.

“Just two weeks ago, right behind us, the tree branches came down and actually destroyed and damaged my convertible roadster,” said Ciliberti.

Crews said they will be out all day addressing the damage. “We’re busy today and we’ll probably work tomorrow, too. Especially when there’s rain, wind, stuff like that,” said Jose Salazar with Tope’s Tree Service.

Ciliberti said his neighborhood, known for its tall pines, has been hit hard this winter. When a storm rolls in, neighbors said the trees cause sleepless nights.

“It’s just mostly the wind, and all the trees. It always sounds so scary. You just kind of lay awake at night and wonder what’s going to fall next,” said Pebble Beach resident, Phyllis Shane.

Neighbors said power only went out for a couple hours, but it has been worse. The last storm left residents in the dark for nearly a full day.

“We don’t have a generator, a lot of people do. You just have everything ready. Your flashlights, and your candles, and all that. The biggest fear is just the trees falling and there’s not a whole lot you can do about that but keep your fingers crossed,” said Shane.

Despite the damage, Ciliberti said Mother Nature actually let them off easy.

“With all these trees surrounding us, I think we really dodged a bullet, considering the strength of the winds and the heavy rain we got,” said Ciliberti.