diff --git a/chain/events/tscache.go b/chain/events/tscache.go
index cf1b8e580..2e58a3f5b 100644
--- a/chain/events/tscache.go
+++ b/chain/events/tscache.go
@@ -92,7 +92,8 @@ func (tsc *tipSetCache) getNonNull(height uint64) (*types.TipSet, error) {
 
 func (tsc *tipSetCache) get(height uint64) (*types.TipSet, error) {
 	if tsc.len == 0 {
-		return nil, xerrors.New("tipSetCache.get: cache is empty")
+		log.Warnf("tipSetCache.get: cache is empty, requesting from storage (h=%d)", height)
+		return tsc.storage(context.TODO(), height, nil)
 	}
 
 	headH := tsc.cache[tsc.start].Height()