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First Of Several Storms This Weekend Makes Its Way Through Region

SACRAMENTO COUNTY (CBS13) - A wet Friday caused a bit of a mess around Sacramento County and surrounding areas.

In addition to the traffic, fire and power crews were jumping from one transformer fire to the next.

Power lines down and transformer blowouts were also reported across Yolo, Solano and Placer counties.

"I just heard a loud boom!"

It wasn't what Sheryl Cecchettini was expecting to deal with on a rainy Friday afternoon.

She was quietly reading a book inside her home, when she looked out her window and saw flames.

Cecchettini says she called 9-1-1 and hauled away her belongings from the yard as fire crews made their way to her home along Jackson Highway.

"I've been here for like 16 years never dreamed a transformer would blow, I know nothing about them but now I do a little bit," Cecchettini laughed.

Sacramento Metro Fire crews had been working another transformer fire near Chester Drive, where an active power line fell into an open field and burned a small portion of the ground.

"Those power lines came down and crossed through a field 200 feet long, it was near a vehicle but fortunately it was unoccupied at the time," said Metro Fire Battalion Chief Tyler Wagaman.

The fire caused a power outage at the intersection of Grant Line Road and Chester Drive Friday afternoon, Knox king out power to the area for about an hour.

Transformer fires are common during rainstorms, according to Wagaman.

"The trees are pretty well-grown after the summer months and when those branches come down and contact power lines, that's when we have issues," Wagaman explained.

While the storm kept fire and power crews busy handling electric fires, Sacramento County drivers sat in traffic and others sought shelter at local shopping centers.

"I love the rain!"

Robin Watts was picking up lunch before heading to work at a nearby gelato shop.

"It kinda gets a little slow for us when it is raining like this," Watts said.

Although the rain could impact business, she wouldn't trade the stormy conditions for anything else.

"I hope it continues to be a wet winter."

Another round of the storm is heading toward the Sacramento Valley this weekend, and drivers are reminded to drive cautiously as the roads are extra oily and slick.

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