Ill Wind Blows Through Southland : Gusts Blamed in Four San Joaquin Valley Traffic Deaths

Winds that whistled across Southern California Thursday, blacking out thousands of homes, downing trees and making desert driving hazardous, are expected to diminish tonight as the Rocky Mountain storm system that spawned them moves into the Central Plains.

In the San Joaquin Valley, wind-whipped dirt cut visibility to zero and caused a chain of accidents that killed at least four people and injured an estimated 16 others on Thursday afternoon.

The weekend should be calm, said the National Weather Service, after an upper-level, high-pressure ridge settles in over the Southland. Saturday and Sunday will be slightly warmer with clear skies.

Orange County officials reported no wind-related damage as winds generally stayed under 25 m.p.h. during the day and diminished to about 10 m.p.h. by dusk.

Santa Ana had the county’s high temperature Thursday with a 75-degree reading after an early morning low of 53. At the beaches, the high temperature reached 68. Temperatures this weekend should reach about 80, the weather service said.

The Los Angeles area probably will have some more local northerly winds of 25 to 35 m.p.h. today, however. The high downtown temperature should be near 78 degrees. On Saturday, it is expected to be about 80. Thursday’s Civic Center high was 78 after an overnight low of 68. The high relative humidity was a mere 16% and the low was 10%.

Power Outages

About 75,000 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers were without electricity at one time or another after the winds sprang up Wednesday night to send branches and trees crashing into wires. Only a few hundred were still without power by Thursday afternoon. The outages were widely scattered throughout Los Angeles, said DWP spokeswoman Elizabeth Wimmer, but much of the trouble was in the San Fernando Valley.

Southern California Edison Co., which had about 20,000 customers without power at various times, had most outages restored by midday with the exception of some locations in the Antelope Valley.

Fierce winds and blowing dirt from recently plowed fields made it impossible for motorists to see Thursday as they drove across Merced County farmland on California 152. At least four people died when more than 30 cars and trucks slammed into each other about 18 miles east of Los Banos shortly after noon.

California Highway Patrol information Officer Bob Arnold in Los Banos said an estimated 16 other people were injured and taken to hospitals throughout the area by half a dozen ambulances. Arnold said a dozen tow trucks were still attempting to clear the wreckage at midafternoon and that all four lanes of the highway would remain closed because of the continuing visibility problem and high winds.

55 m.p.h. Gusts

Gusts up to 55 m.p.h. were expected all through the west side of the San Joaquin Valley.

Travelers’ advisories remained in effect for much of the Southland’s deserts and mountains. Winds up to 60 m.p.h. were possible through the passes and over the ridges. The strong wind conditions also existed in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Northern and Central California and in Nevada and Arizona.

Wilshire Boulevard had to be closed between Centinela Avenue and Bundy Drive in West Los Angeles early Thursday after several large pieces of sheet metal from a 22-story building under construction were ripped off by the wind and fell into the street. A large crane atop the building was rocked from side to side, prompting evacuation of a nearby motel.

A 30-foot power boat was swamped near San Clemente Island, but was escorted safely to harbor by a U.S. Navy vessel. A disabled sloop was taken into tow by the Coast Guard just before going on the rocks at the Marina del Rey harbor entrance. Gusts up to 62 m.p.h. were recorded at the marina breakwater.

Gale Warning

A gale warning was issued Thursday afternoon for the outer coastal waters from Point Conception to San Nicolas Island, where gusts up to 40 knots and combined seas 15 to 20 feet were expected. A small craft advisory for gusty north-to-northeast winds 20 to 39 knots was in effect from Point Conception to the Mexican border. Those winds are expected to decrease this afternoon.