Death toll at 3 as California storm brings heavy rain, flooding, mudslides
LOS ANGELES — The toll from the atmospheric river poised over California climbed tragically Monday, as three people were killed by falling trees. The storm has spawned flooding and mudslides as it has blazed a damaging trail across the state.
All three people died Sunday in Northern California in separate incidents of downed trees, according to Brian Ferguson, spokesperson for the governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
In Sacramento County, 41-year-old Carmichael resident Chad Ensey suffered blunt-force trauma and died at a hospital after a tree fell on him in his backyard amid strong winds. In the rural Santa Cruz County community of Boulder Creek, Robert Brainard III, 45, was killed when a tree fell on his home. And in Sutter County, 82-year-old David Gomes was found dead beneath a fallen redwood tree in his backyard, authorities said.
The storm — after hammering the Bay Area, Sacramento Valley and Central Coast — was not yet over Monday. But weather officials say the most dangerous conditions may have passed.
