Fierce gusts of wind rattle Valley, damage infrastructure and send slabs of metal flying

You could hear the symphony of chainsaws and woodchippers ringing across Fresno.

The sawing and shredding drowned out the howling winds that toppled over the handsomest of redwoods.

On McKinley Avenue, decades-old trees, tired of swaying, lay themselves to rest.

The winds helped tumbleweeds live up to their name.

And bunched up Old Glory around its flagpole.

Bus Driver Jessica Mahoney was about to start her route when she came across the most unusual sight.

She saw a car part go up in the air and land back down by a boat.

"The gusts of wind, I didn't know it was that strong. It just came down," she said.

The slab of metal was still lodged in tree branches on Thursday night.

Other homes also experienced close calls.

The winds are blamed for causing most of Fresno's 6,000 outages.

Addams Elementary School was one of many places that lost power.

Utility companies and the city were overwhelmed with calls.

Joe and George who work in landscaping came to the aid of Tom Henderson, when a tree from his front yard fell into the road.

"Could have been really bad... didn't hit the fence, didn't hit the house. We're lucky," Henderson said.

City crews scrambled to clear all major roads before night fell.

They'll be back in the morning to clear debris as another wave of rain sets in.