SANTA ANA WINDS KNOCK OUT POWER TO THOUSANDS IN CALIFORNIA
Sunday, January 25, 2015
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Power was being restored Sunday to
tens of thousands of people who lost electricity in Southern California after
fierce Santa Ana winds gusting as much as 89 mph toppled trees and power poles.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said
Saturday's outages affected more than 54,000 customers — mostly in the San
Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles.
The Santa Ana winds downed numerous trees and power
poles across the region. The damage included a large billboard that blew down
in Burbank, while a big tree fell into the kitchen of a house in Van Nuys.
Scattered outages also left 1,700 Southern California
Edison customers without power in Fontana and Ontario east of Los Angeles.
Also in Ontario, the winds helped fuel a fire at a green
waste recycling facility.
Ontario deputy fire chief Mike Pelletier said crews were
working through the night to ensure that the blaze was contained to the
property.
No one was injured and just a barn and two sheds were
damaged. Pelletier said no homes were immediately threatened. Crews hoped to
have the blaze knocked down by dawn.
The National Weather Service says a gauge in the
mountains near Julian in San Diego County registered a gust of 89 mph at 7:30
a.m. An 82 mph wind gust was recorded in the Malibu hills Saturday afternoon.
The winds kicked up Friday night and were expected to
continue Sunday, though they were expected to be somewhat weaker, the National
Weather Service said.
The Santa Ana winds are generated during cooler months
when westward currents reach fierce speeds as they squeeze through Southern
California mountain ranges and buffet coastal areas. The winds lower humidity
and making vegetation susceptible to fire.
Meanwhile, a high-surf advisory warning of up to
11-foot-high surf was in effect through Sunday.
Authorities said the winds blew two kayakers out to sea
off the coast of Malibu. They were reported missing for about an hour before
Los Angeles County Fire Department lifeguards helped them paddle back to shore.