Dangerous Winds Should Ease Today but May Be Back

Streaking Santa Ana winds that whipped destructive fires out of control and left thousands of Southern California homes without power are expected to ease today, but may return by the first of the week, forecasters cautioned.

With more than 20 homes destroyed and numerous other structures heavily damaged by four major blazes in Los Angeles County, the National Weather Service issued high-wind warnings for areas below passes and canyons through Thursday night, when they expected possible gusts up to 60 m.p.h. before slowly decreasing today.

Although there were estimates that winds gusted up to 100 m.p.h. during the night in some areas after they first began whistling down from the northeast late Wednesday afternoon, the Weather Service could provide no such official readings.

Report of Strong Gust

“I heard about an 80 m.p.h. gust around the Rialto airport,” said Art Lessard, chief Weather Service meteorologist in Los Angeles. “I do know we’ve had a couple of 60s. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if there have been gusts 70 to 80 m.p.h. below the canyons.”

Angeles National Forest spokesman Robert Brady said gusts of 65 and 70 m.p.h. were clocked Thursday morning at the Angeles Crest Ranger Station, about two miles north of La Canada Flintridge.

Peak velocities reported by the Weather Service Thursday afternoon included 58 m.p.h. at Ontario International Airport, 69 m.p.h. at Laguna Peak in Ventura County and 62 m.p.h. at Sandberg in the Mojave Desert.

Meteorologist Pat Cooper of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times, said the winds will continue today in Southern California, but should slack off a little.

“It will still clean out your gutters for you,” she predicted.

Then, she said, after a relatively easy weekend, “I would say Monday and Tuesday will be windy again as we have another high-pressure system drop into the place of the one we have now.”

The Santa Anas blowing from the northeast were caused by an Idaho-centered high pushing the flow toward a low-pressure system that has been over Baja California.

“When the winds come down the canyons like that,” Cooper said, “it’s just like water being squeezed out of a balloon. It comes out at high velocity.”

The Weather Service warned drivers to watch out for blowing sand in the deserts and possible “considerable debris on the roadways.”

High in 70s Predicted

Forecasters said Los Angeles Civic Center high temperatures today should be in the 70s and lows tonight 45 to 55 degrees.

Thursday’s downtown high was 73 degrees after an overnight low of 63.

And it was dry, with relative humidity reaching a high of only 19% after dipping to 11%.

In a region badly in need of rainfall, none is expected--at least through the middle of next week, Cooper said.