California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Wednesday as powerful winds and lashing rain from the incoming “bomb cyclone” whipped across the state. Trees were ripped from their roots in some areas, including in Occidental, where a toddler believed to be younger than 2 was killed when a tree fell on his home, the Press Democratreports. Evacuation orders were also issued in several places as officials warned of flooding and power outages. As of Thursday morning, almost 200,000 homes and businesses in the state were without power, according to tracking site poweroutage.us. “We anticipate that this may be one of the most challenging and impactful series of storms to touch down in California in the last five years,” said Nancy Ward, the new director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
