By Linda Taaffe

Nearly every household in Los Altos lost power - at least briefly - during the 50 mph winds that gusted through the city during last week’s first succession of storms Feb. 17.

Of the city’s 10,462 homes, 7,923 lost electricity at one time or another between 1:30 and 3 p.m., said PG&E spokesman Jeff Smith. Another 554 houses went dark in Los Altos Hills, he added.

PG&E restored power to most homes by 5 p.m. Smith estimated that 95 percent of the affected homes lost power for two hours at most, though some residents near Covington School said they were without power for as long as 13 hours.

In most of the cases, tree limbs had fallen on the power lines and broken them, Smith said.

Downed trees closed two major commuter routes in the late afternoon. Public works supervisor Brian McCarthy said three eucalyptus trees blocked both southbound lanes on Foothill Expressway between Magdalena Avenue and Loyola Corners. Crews received about 20 reports of smaller limbs blocking the expressway at various other locations, he added. A downed acacia tree blocked westbound traffic on Fremont Avenue.

The city responded to another 10 calls regarding downed trees and limbs blocking residential streets and sidewalks throughout the city. In a few cases, trees did more than fall into the street: McCarthy said one homeowner reported that a tree had fallen on their house; another caller reported that an acacia limb had fallen on top of a car on Benvenue Avenue.

The city’s concession stand at Hillview Park lost its roof when the wind flung it across the parking lot onto a nearby car, McCarthy said. At Shoup Park, the top of a redwood tree crashed onto a picnic table. And a light pole toppled over at McKenzie Park.

Despite the number of reports, damage was minimal, McCarthy said. There was no flooding reported, he added.

Diane Walz’ downtown salon didn’t fare well during the storm. Severe winds shattered the glass entrance door to Balisimo Salon on State Street in the early afternoon. A gust of wind pushed the closed door with such force, the glass shattered across the salon on impact, Walz said.

“We didn’t know what had happened. We just heard a loud explosion and ran,” she said. No one was injured.