Wind Battered Southland, Knocking Power Out for Thousands

MALIBU, CA - With Santa Ana winds battering the Southland on Friday, trees were knocked to the ground, thousands of people were left without power and streets were littered with trash bins and other debris.

Nearly 33,000 customers in various areas of Los Angeles County were left without power due to the powerful winds.

Southern California Edison reported about 9,600 customers without electricity in its jurisdiction in various parts of Los Angeles County, including 2,443 in Lakewood; 823 in Norwalk; 544 in Santa Monica and 360 in Redondo Beach.

The winds knocked down trees across the area, including Northridge, where the gusts felled a 70-foot-tall pine tree that crushed the top of a pickup on Superior Street.

In West Los Angeles, power outages left traffic lights flashing red at a series of intersections, complicating the morning commute.

Some wind gusts reaching 60 mph were recorded in the northern reaches of the county, according to the National Weather Service. In the San Fernando Valley, winds were gusting around 40 mph.

"The wind storms typically result in power outages as dried palm fronds, tree branches, downed trees and other debris fall and make contact with power lines," Albert Rodriguez of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said.

"LADWP crews are working as diligently and as safely as possible under these heavy wind conditions to restore power to customers affected," Rodriguez said.

As of late Friday morning, about 23,000 LADWP customers were without electricity in various parts of the city, including 2,021 in East Hollywood; 2,131 in Westlake; 1,432 in Hollywood; 2,773 in Northridge, and 1,916 in Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw.

Forecasters said the winds will be sticking around.

"An upper level ridge will build into the West Coast and surface high pressure will move into Nevada over the weekend, according to the NWS. "This will bring gusty Santa Ana winds to portions of the region tonight through Sunday morning. There will be a warming trend, with temperatures well above normal this weekend. Warm weather will continue early next week, then a couple of upper lows moving through the Pacific will bring a cooling trend for midweek."

-- City News Service, photo via Shutterstock