‘Santa’ comes in the form of mean winds that snap Americana Christmas tree

Strong Santa Ana winds Wednesday night snapped off the top 20 feet of the 100-foot Christmas tree at the Americana at Brand.

No one was injured in the incident, which occurred at 11:05 p.m., and there should be no long-term damage to the tree display area, said Americana spokeswoman Jennifer Gordon.

A crew from Victor’s Custom Christmas Trees arrived in the morning to repair the tree by inserting steel rods into the trunk so the top portion can be reattached, she said.

Restoring the tree was expected to take a couple days.

Crews will also put back up the lights and decorations that were swept off the tree, Gordon added.

-- Mark Kellam, Times Community News

Twitter: @LAMarkKellam

Photo: The Christmas tree at Americana at Brand when it was still 100 feet tall. Credit: Times Community News