Winds Down Trees, Power Lines

Strong winds toppled trees and blew down power lines across Ventura County on Saturday, but the gusts did not result in any reported serious injuries or major property losses.

The offshore Santa Ana winds reached speeds of up to 50 mph in Camarillo and Oxnard, with downed trees marring Camarillo’s annual Christmas parade and forcing the cancellation of the Channel Islands Harbor Parade of Lights.

Bruce Rockwell from the National Weather Service station in Oxnard said gusts of 20 to 30 mph blew during much of the day. Palm fronds and leaves were being blown around in just about every city. But in Simi Valley, eucalyptus trees were causing the real problems.

The westbound side of the Ronald Reagan Freeway was closed for two hours beginning about 8:15 a.m. near 1st Street because of a fallen eucalyptus tree.

Trees uprooted by wind also caused problems on residential streets. Two parked cars were damaged on Citronella Street and Lubbock Drive when trees fell on them, said Simi Valley Police Sgt. Ron Lompart.

The Ventura County Fire Department received its first downed-tree call of the day at about 7 a.m., said spokeswoman Jackie Noel. In addition, there were several reports of downed and arcing power lines in the Moorpark area.

Southern California Edison reported several momentary power outages around Ventura County. The most widespread lasted about 30 seconds and affected 11,000 customers in Oxnard and Camarillo, said Edison spokesman Kevin Kelly.

Eight circuits in the area were knocked out because of the wind, Kelly said, and as of 5 p.m. about 200 customers were without power.

Dave Lidren, who operates Big Wave Dave’s Christmas Trees in Ventura, said a sturdy tent prevented his temporary stand at Seaward Avenue and Thompson Boulevard from blowing away.

“I’m always anchoring this thing down. The wind did flare up for about 15 minutes, but it’s not that bad,” Lidren said. “I heard the wind was really bad out in Simi Valley. I heard somebody lost a tent out there.”

Unlike the rain of just a few days ago, the wind did not keep customers away, Lidren said. “When the rain stopped, the people came back out,” he said.

Rockwell of the weather service said strong winds will continue through tonight, with gusts to 45 mph. And because the ground is wet after last week’s rains more trees could be uprooted.

“The wet ground is as much of a factor in the trees falling as the winds,” Rockwell said. “The ground gets loose and, yes, 45 mph winds could, technically, blow over the trees.”

If there is good news associated with the harsh breezes, it is that things will dry out, Rockwell said.

“The thing about the climate in this part of California is that you get a couple days of rain, followed by 48 hours of wind and then there’s no rain, and that reduces the chance of floods,” he said.

That’s fortunate, because Rockwell said the forecast calls for rain later in the week.