SFFD says storms knocked out power, felled hundreds of trees and produced two fatalities; 911 experienced delays

Chief of Department Janine Nicholson told the San Francisco Fire Commission on March 22 that a major storm produced widespread impacts across the city, including multiple fatalities and system strain.

"We got data sighting up to 80 miles an hour at Pier 1 yesterday," Chief Janine Nicholson said, summarizing wind readings and citywide damage. She told commissioners the department received roughly 730 calls and the Department of Emergency Management logged over 900 calls related to the storm. At peak demand, SFFD experienced a six-minute delay for some 911 calls and more than 130 calls queued awaiting response.

Nicholson said crews logged more than 700 reports of trees down and responded to multiple incidents including damage to high-rise windows and power outages. San Francisco General Hospital experienced a power outage that reduced services to critical functions only, the chief said, and the department asked Pacific Gas & Electric to "step up to the plate" in restoring power and supporting critical infrastructure.

Nicholson also confirmed two storm-related fatalities and several serious injuries from falling trees, naming the locations she cited in her report to the commission. She described a high-profile maritime impact as well: three barges struck the Third Street Bridge, damaging the pedestrian span but not the bridge's structural elements.

Commissioners praised the department's response and pressed for follow-up on whether non-storm changes to street layout and lane design have affected response times. Nicholson said the department will continue examining response-time issues and would report further when appropriate.

The commission received the report and did not take additional emergency action at the meeting. The department said some service restorations were expected the same evening, and that storm-related impacts could persist into mid-April as successive systems move through the region.