Extreme drought conditions may have contributed to tree damage, power outages in the Sierra

It’s not unusual for wet snow to fall at elevations of 4,000 feet and below in the Sierra. It’s also not unusual for that heavy, cement-like snow to bring down a few tree branches and cause some scattered outages. But the damage following last week’s snow that many are still cleaning up from IS unusual. Snowfall totals between Dec. 26 and Dec. 28 were a bit higher than a typical snow event for places like Grass Valley, Placerville and Georgetown but they weren’t exceptional when compared with a storm like what came through in 2009.