High Winds Cause Trouble in East County

Dry, gusting Santa Ana winds played havoc with motor homes and large trucks Monday in the eastern San Diego County mountains but created few problems in coastal areas despite earlier predictions.

The California Highway Patrol closed Interstate 8 to large vehicles for a 50-mile stretch between East Willows Road near Alpine and Ocotillo on the desert floor in Imperial Valley. Wind gusts up to 60 m.p.h. were reported both in Pine Valley and further east at the 4,190-foot Crestwood Summit, the highest point on the highway.

Tractor-trailer rigs and other large vehicles will not be allowed through the area until the winds subside, which National Weather Service forecasters said will be today.

Meteorologist Wilbur Shigehara said Monday that a fairly strong high-pressure system over central Idaho was generating a dry stream of winds blowing toward Southern California, but with selective effects in the county.

“The winds are not widespread, but are being found in some of the natural coastal river canyons, such as Sweetwater or Rancho Penasquitos, and further east in the county, but not along the coast,” Shigehara said.

“There is a weak, low pressure right off the coast,” Shigehara said, minimizing the air-pressure difference along the coast, so that not all the winds are reaching the sea.

But Shigehara said stronger winds will blow into coastal canyons during the night and morning today, before dissipating by mid-week as the high-pressure system slowly moves east.

“We are under the influence of a Santa Ana. We had very low humidity Monday, 20% at 4 p.m. and even lower--15%--at noontime,” he said. “These conditions will continue all week, with sunshine and low humidity, with winds picking up perhaps late in the week again, and no rain as far as Tuesday.” At this point, it appears likely that San Diego will receive all 600 minutes of sunshine available Dec. 21, the winter solstice, with the shortest daylight of the year.

Meanwhile, the fog that plagued drivers and air travelers this weekend during the late-night and early-morning hours will remain offshore, Shigehara said. Colder night temperatures will be the price residents pay for warmer-than-normal daytime readings.

“We have frost advisories for agricultural areas this week, and it will get down to 27 degrees or so in some wind-protected areas such as Bonsall,” Shigehara said. “Pauma Valley, Escondido, Rincon will have some light frosts, and it could drop into the mid-20s by the end of the week as colder air from the Rockies spills west.”

The dry weather means red-flag fire conditions throughout the county.

A fire in Sycamore Canyon near Poway broke out early Monday afternoon after a private contractor ran into problems while working on a power line, San Diego fire officials said. About 100 firefighters brought the fire under control after it burned 35 acres.

Times staff writer Franki V. Ransom contributed to this story.