Aftermath of Weekend Storms in Arroyo Grande
The picture above shows what’s left of the Real family’s front window after strong winds from Friday’s powerful storm shattered it out of the frame.
“All of a sudden I heard a loud pop and I kinda thought it was more shingles flying off the roof and my wife Jennavie said: “Joe you gotta come in here!” and so I came in here and the window was totally blown out,” explains homeowner Joe Real.
Right before they lost their window, the Reals were among the thousands of PG&E customers in the Five Cities area to lose power. They say the darkness made it difficult to pick up all the glass, Joe Real even cut his hand in the process.
“We didn’t have the luxury of having a vacuum cleaner because we didn’t have any electricity,” he says.
Massive downed eucalyptus tress are what many suspect caused the power outage in parts of Arroyo Grande, leaving families like the Reals without power for nearly 37 hours.
Being without power wasn’t too terrible for them however, the Reals say they got to spend quality time with each other instead of electronics, using flashlights and camping equipment to light up their home.
“Something like this gives families an opportunity to really bond together and really take a look at what they have,” Joe Real explains.
Now as of 4 p.m. Monday, about 550 people in Arroyo Grande were still without power. PG&E says it’s important for times like this to always keep flashlights and fresh batteries around because it’s hard to tell how long an outage will last.
