High Winds Down Trees, Power Lines

Winds that reached 60 mph in some areas of Ventura County on Monday caused sporadic power outages, felled trees and prompted a wind advisory that remains in effect until noon today for motor homes, tractor-trailers and other high-profile vehicles.

Winds between 25 and 35 mph began blowing Sunday night and by early Monday morning had snapped trees throughout the county.

No significant damage was reported, authorities said.

About 5,000 Southern California Edison customers in Oxnard and Santa Paula were without power for about two hours beginning at 3 a.m. Monday, when strong winds blew trees into power lines, according to Edison spokesman Steven Conroy.

Despite calmer winds Monday afternoon, Conroy said, Edison crews were still receiving calls of minor outages.

“Right now we have just some minor problems associated with winds. We’ve been having some no-light calls in the normal course of the day,” Conroy said.

“We’ve had crews working throughout the night and they will be working throughout [Monday] evening.”

On Monday, the wind reached 60 mph in Lockwood Valley, the windiest spot in the county, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Dedric Walker in Oxnard.

The rest of the county had winds of 25 to 35 mph, with gusts slightly higher, prompting the California Highway Patrol to issue a wind advisory discouraging travel in vehicles such as motor homes and tractor-trailers.

Forecasters had predicted a 30% chance of showers in the county Monday, but by afternoon the county was still dry. There was a chance of rain in the mountains, Walker said.

Light winds were expected to continue through this afternoon, Walker said.

Today’s forecast is mostly sunny with winds from the northeast to 35 mph, with gusts diminishing by the afternoon, he said.

Temperatures across the county will be in the mid- to upper 60s, and the overnight forecast calls for lows in the 40s, and northeast winds will blow 15 to 25 mph tonight, he said.