The South Bay was hit the hardest by power outages on Wednesday as an atmospheric river made its way into the Bay Area.
Many Pacific Gas and Electric Company customers, including hotels, were left in the dark as crews worked to restore power in several cities.
Chris Mullen of Los Gatos said his home was still lit thanks to a generator in the back of his truck.
"PG&E has a thing where we got a transfer switch meter, so now we can run one cable and run the whole house with the truck," he said.
Mountain View Fire Rescue District posted photos on social media showing a downed tree and what appeared to be sparks in the street. The department said firefighters were responding to wet weather emergencies.
At one point, 10,000 customers in Mountain View were without power, forcing some to operate their businesses in the dark. Some only accepted cash, while others had to close for the day.
The Santa Clara County Fire Department also posted photos of a downed tree, adding that firefighters responded to many reports of downed power lines, branches and trees.
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"At my house, winds were 40 miles an hour, and it sent my patio umbrella with the weight flying, so I had to run out and grab my umbrella and plop it back down," said John Kelm.
Mullen said he even offered neighbors some of his power.
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"We’re charging our neighbor's Chromebooks for the kids for school; we [were] charging power banks for other people so they have a way to charge their phones," he said.
Officials said it's essential to have a plan in case the power does go out, to leave plenty of distance between cars while on the road, and if there is a downed power line to report it.
