Winds Fell Trees, Spark Power Outages

About 4,000 households in the San Fernando Valley began the new year without power as gusting Santa Ana winds of up to 40 mph downed lines and caused temporary outages throughout the day, authorities said Monday.

The outages began about 3 a.m. Monday. They were concentrated around Sunland and Tujunga but also were scattered throughout Los Angeles and adjoining communities, said Barry Tuller, spokesman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

“Most of it was winds knocking down lines and trees knocking down lines,” he said.

The winds were so strong that city fire officials sent crews to about 60 calls of downed power lines throughout the city to prevent residents from handling the live wires until utility workers could make repairs.

“There is no safe way for a civilian to handle a live line,” said Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey. Emergency crews worked throughout the day to bring the power back, Tuller said. Most of the affected Valley homes had their power back by the evening, DWP officials said.

In Glendale, winds toppled an electric transformer Sunday night, knocking out power to several parts of the city. Glendale utility workers worked throughout the day Monday to restore power.

With winds clocked between 25 and 40 mph in Valley communities, meteorologists issued a high-wind warning for boaters and large vehicles such as trailers and motor homes, said Rob Kaczmarek of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

Kaczmarek said the winds should diminish today. “It will be breezy but things should settle down.”