Winds Expected to Wind Down, Forecasters Say

The gusty winds that blew through Orange County on Monday should subside today or Wednesday--but with them will go the clear skies they brought, forecasters said.

Santa Ana winds gusted to 30 m.p.h. Monday, bringing blue skies and only minor reports of damage, said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist for WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times.

Brack said the system should keep temperatures in the 70s and 80s until Wednesday, when conditions will return to normal and winds out of the west will push clouds into the area.

The winds were caused by high pressure systems over the Midwest, Brack said, which forced the wind to blow south and southwest, opposite its usual direction.

County firefighters were on a heightened state of alert because of the winds, but county Fire Captain Dan Young said the county is still too wet from this winter’s heavy rains for brush fires to pose a real threat.

But continued warm, dry winds could dry out the county and create “some pretty nasty conditions” by June, Young said.

“I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come,” Young said of the Santa Ana winds. “There’s a tremendous amount of (scrub brush) growth because of all the rain we got.”

Because of the winds, Young said, the fire authority stepped up its response to any reported fires.

When a 1982 Ford pick-up caught fire Monday at Santiago Canyon and Modjeska Grade roads, the authority sent five engines, a battalion chief, two helicopters, and a truck carrying 2,500 gallons of water to the scene, Young said. He said a fire that size normally would have warranted one fire engine, but the authority wasn’t taking any chances because of the 1993 Laguna Beach fire. “You couldn’t have another Laguna fire today.”

Young said nothing else in the area ignited even though the truck’s fuel tank exploded.

Officials with the county Environmental Management Agency said a few felled trees constituted Monday’s only wind-related incidents.

“So far, no problems,” said Clint Brown, an agency employee. “It seems like (the wind has) been off and on.”

While Orange County beaches attracted more people than usual because many local students are on spring break, the shores did not get very crowded because of the winds and the fairly chilly temperatures near the water, said Matt Karl, a Huntington Beach lifeguard.

Karl said that Santa Ana winds often kick up a lot of sand, and “I think a lot of people didn’t come to the beach because of it. There was never really a time when it wasn’t windy” Monday.

But, he added, the winds also improve surf conditions, and more surfers tend to come out during a Santa Ana.

Richard Calabuig, 20, a Golden West College student on spring break, was surfing near the Huntington Beach pier Monday. He said the winds made the surf much better, but they also kept the air a little cool: “I’d like for it to be a little warmer than this.”

While temperatures were low on the beaches, the winds brought warm, dry air inland, said Sean Mullen, an employee at River View Golf in Santa Ana.

Mullen said the winds blow debris on the putting greens and “can make for tough play” as golfers try to guess which way their tee-shots will go.

“Holes that normally play one way are completely different,” Mullen said. He added that the dry weather “keeps people in the climate-controlled stuff.”