Winds Lash SoCal: Pasadena Declares State of Emergency; Schools Closed
Downed power lines spark fires near Occidental College
VIDEO: Watch Mark Kriski's Thursday Forecast
 Huge Eucalyptus tree falls on home in Boyle Heights (KTLA-TV) |
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VIDEO: Gas Station Crushed As Winds Lash SoCal - Chris Wolfe reports
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VIDEO: Huge Tree Crashes Through Boyle Heights Home - Eric Spillman reports
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VIDEO: Gusty Winds Bring Dangerous Driving Conditions - Jennifer Gould reports
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- PHOTO: Downed tree crushes gas station in Pasadena
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- VIDEO: Winds Knock Out Power at LAX - Dave Mecham reports
- KTLA: Damaging Santa Ana Winds - Mark Kriski's Thursday Forecast
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KTLA) -- Strong winds continued to buffet Southern California Thursday morning, knocking down trees, sparking fires and leaving tens of thousands of people in the dark.
Forecasters say this could be the strongest offshore wind event we have seen in the past few years.
A high wind warning is in effect for the Los Angeles County coast, including Downtown L.A. until noon on Thursday.
Northeast winds of 25 to 40 mph, with gusts up to 60 mph below passes and canyons, are expected from Malibu to the Hollywood Hills.
The city of Pasadena has been hit particularly hard by the winds. The mayor declared a state of emergency Thursday morning.
People are urged to stay home until the winds die down because several roadways are impassable.
Metro is warning riders about delays on the Gold Line through Pasadena, which could extend throughout the day.
Nearby Sierra Madre has also declared a state of emergency. About 20 structures were damaged, and many streets were blocked.
Pasadena police said they had over 100 trees down, as well as transformers that had blown, leaving some 6,000 people without power.
The wind sent a tree toppling onto the roof of a Shell station at San Gabriel and Colorado boulevards. The roof then collapsed onto the gas pumps. Employees shut off the pumps, and no leaks were reported.
80 mph winds brought down multiple power lines and transformers in the Eagle Rock area shortly after midnight, sparking a series of brush fires near Occidental College.
Firefighters fought the flames from both the ground and the air, and contained the major blaze to two acres.
One homeowner was injured by a falling branch, and another was burned when a transformer showered him with sparks.
No structures were damaged. Some evacuations were ordered, but authorities said they proved to be unnecessary.
In nearby Glendale, a large part of the roof at Shakers Restaurant collapsed around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The restaurant's management was trying to secure the roof before deciding if it would be open Thursday night.
Elsewhere, a huge Eucalyptus tree came down on a house in Boyle Heights around 5 a.m.
85-year-old Pablo Marquez was home at the time, and said it sounded "like an earthquake."
Building inspectors have told Marquez and his grandson that they need to leave the house until the DWP can assess a damaged transformer.
Residents of the Inland Empire were also dealing with wind-related damage.
An unsuspecting driver ran into a downed power pole on Arrow Highway in Fontana. Fortunately, the driver was not hurt.
And a 100-foot tree fell on a house in the 3300 block of Sierra Way in San Bernardino.
Several schools were closed Thursday due to the wind, including:
-Pasadena Unified
-Arcadia Unified
-San Marino Unified
-South Pasadena Unified
-Alhambra Unified
-Monrovia Unified
-San Gabriel schools
-Temple City schools
-Glendale schools
-Duarte schools
-Azusa schools
-Glendora Unified
-Pasadena City College
-Citrus College
-Westridge School
-Flintridge Preparatory School
-St. Francis High School
-Campbell Hall
Scattered blackouts have also been reported across the Southland due to the wind.
As of 11 a.m. Thursday, about 213,000 Southern California Edison customers were without power, the company said. The San Gabriel Valley and the Foothills were the hardest hit areas.
It was not known when power would be restored. Circuits serving essential service customers -- like medical facilities, police and fire -- were being given repair priority, SoCal Edison said.
Approximately 123,400 L.A. Metro and 5,600 San Fernando Valley LADWP customers were without power as of 10 a.m. Thursday.
LADWP said over 100 crews were responding to 1000+ incidents.
Just after 7 p.m. Wednesday, an outage at a LADWP receiving station affected power service to about 56,000 customers on L.A.'s westside, including LAX terminals, and portions of Westchester, Playa del Rey, Del Rey and Venice.
Lights were knocked out in the terminals at LAX. A TSA supervisor told KTLA that, while some planes were still taking off, baggage screenings were stopped.
Ten airlines reported flight diversions to other airports in the region, affecting 20 domestic flights and three international flights, LAX said in a statement.
Two runways on the south side of the airport were also closed for safety due to debris.
Some power was restored shortly after 8 p.m and full operations were restored by 9 p.m.
The Santa Ana winds are expected to continue through Thursday afternoon, then pick up again Thursday night, and remain strong and gusty through Friday morning.
In addition to knocking down trees and power lines, the winds could create flying debris, and make driving conditions dangerous, especially for high-profile vehicles.
The winds are bringing cold temperatures with them, cooling the valleys as much as 15 degrees.
Downtown and along the coast, temperatures will cool from the mid-70s to the high 60s later in the week.
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