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A 70-foot pine tree fell on a house and SUV in North Park Friday morning

Residents were rattled when the tree fell but no one was harmed.

SAN DIEGO — A 70-foot pine tree fell on a house and SUV in North Park Friday morning.

No one was injured when the tree fell at 3:28 a.m. Friday at a home in the 2600 block of Kew Terrace. 

The tree was on city property, and work crews will clean up the area.

The family said the tree fell after recent heavy rains saturated the ground around the tree. The American Red Cross has been asked to help aid the six displaced residents.

Mayor Todd Gloria said the city would likely lift an evacuation warning issued earlier this week for several low-lying neighborhoods -- including Encanto, Mission Valley, Mountain View, San Ysidro, Sorrento Valley, and Southcrest -- which flooded last week and were considered at risk on Thursday.

However, he reminded residents to remain vigilant and prepare for more rain, noting that more precipitation was still possible, and an even stronger storm was anticipated early next week.

"Now is not the time to remove your sandbags," Gloria said. "We can't predict Mother Nature, she's unpredictable."

A fast-moving Pacific storm brought more widespread winter rainfall, blustery conditions, and concerns about flooding to the San Diego area Thursday. But the system was far less severe than the one that hit last week.

"Last week was a once-in-a-thousand-years storm, today was a once-in-10-years storm," San Diego Fire-Rescue Chief Colin Stowell said during a late-afternoon news conference. "The call volume was very manageable."

SDFD had to perform one water rescue of two men in Chollas Creek, and swift water rescue teams from SDFD's Lifeguard Division will remain fully staffed through Friday and "stand prepared."

Emergency call volume decreased from last week's storm, with calls dropping from 1,027 during the previous storm to 390 on Thursday -- with the number of emergency calls also declining from 404 to 75, said Bethany Bezak, the city's director of transportation.

A total of 30 locations throughout the city remained closed by city crews due to flooding.

Officials advised residents in neighborhoods where evacuation warnings were issued to come up with a plan to relocate if possible. 

The city requested that residents help mitigate storm impacts by sweeping debris that might collect around storm drains and gutters and placing their trash bins away from curbs.

County officials, for their part, advised residents of unincorporated communities to stay home if they could.

"If you live in a flood-prone area, take necessary precautions, protect your family and property (and) have a plan and a go-kit so you are ready," Emergency Services Director Jeff Toney said.

Last week, the city and county of San Diego, along with Gov. Gavin Newsom, declared states of emergency due to the disastrously heavy precipitation, which destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes. Much of the most acute destruction occurred in southeastern San Diego, notably the communities of Encanto, Logan Heights, Mountain View and Southcrest.

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