Uninvited Gusts Tear Up County

A stalled high-pressure system over the Great Basin continued Thursday to blow-dry Orange County after last weekend’s torrential rains.

But in the process, the winds--which pummeled Orange County for the second day in a row and were expected to continue until Sunday--toppled trees, caused scattered power outages and challenged drivers.

About 34,000 Southern California Edison customers lost power, mostly because of branches and trees falling on lines, spokesman Steve Hanson said.

Repair crews struggled to stay ahead of the workload, fixing one problem as a fresh gust of wind caused a new outage somewhere else. At any given time, Hanson said, about 3,600 customers were without power.

In Huntington Beach, 25 people were evacuated from their homes Thursday morning after a 12,000-volt power line fell across four buildings at the Huntington Bay condominiums off Adams Avenue.

Don Connors, president of the homeowners association, said a maintenance worker told him about 10 a.m. that a power line had fallen and burned a hole in the asphalt parking lot.

“I saw a fireball about 3 feet high where it touched ground,” Connors said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Winds also blew off about 10 awnings in the Huntington By-the-Sea and Cabrillo trailer parks along Pacific Coast Highway and Newland Street and made work difficult for Huntington Beach lifeguards.

“Right now, we have gusts up to 61 mph,” lifeguard Lt. Mike Beuerlein said Thursday morning. “Our flags are ripped to shreds and most of our trash cans are swimming right now. Plus, the lifeguard in our zero tower on the pier wants to know if he can abandon ship.”

The zero tower, a lifeguard stand built in the ‘50s, has weathered severe storms, including the El Nino barrage 15 years ago, but has never been abandoned, he said. Lifeguards on Thursday kept up the tradition: They decided to ride out the winds.

In Lake Forest, strong gusts overnight dropped a giant pine tree onto a carport at Ridgecrest Apartments, damaging half a dozen vehicles underneath, fire officials said. No injuries were reported.

In Costa Mesa, northbound Bristol Street from Town Center Drive to Sunflower Avenue was closed briefly after trees fell across the road.

Windblown debris turned freeways across Orange County into obstacle courses. Tumbling cardboard boxes brought traffic to a near halt on the San Diego Freeway in Costa Mesa during the morning commute, and winds nearly whipped away a Christmas tree lashed to the top of a car in Garden Grove. Motorists in trucks, vans and similar-sized vehicles were cautioned to drive carefully.

The highest winds, at 79 mph, were recorded at Fremont Canyon, and the Santa Ana Fire Department reported sustained winds of 35 mph and gusts up to 48 mph.

Vera Flores, 34, felt the effects about 6:30 a.m. at her home in Santa Ana’s Coach Royal Mobile Home Park on South Sullivan Street.

“I was so scared,” she said. “I thought it had to be a huge earthquake.”

It wasn’t. It was the roof of her mobile home being ripped off by gusting winds. Her patio roof later caved in too, covering her driveway with debris.

Her neighbor, Margarita Clark, 28, returned to her trailer about 8 a.m. after dropping off her daughter at school. A short time later, she too heard a loud boom, which sent her 3-year-old son, Alan, scrambling for cover under the dining room table.

Heavy winds ripped off part of her roof, separated one wall of her mobile home from the rest of the coach and dropped ceiling insulation into two rooms.

Both women said they hoped to get their repairs done before the next rainfall.

“We’ve been saving for Christmas, but it looks like we may spend all our money on this,” Clark said.

In Corona del Mar, the winds disrupted Jean Boyd’s plans for the day. She was about to leave home for a hair appointment when a 70-foot eucalyptus tree fell on her roof, ripping off side gutters.

“It was scary to hear it,” she said. “I looked out and the top of the tree was all in front of my window.”

Boyd said the damage is bad, but she’s grateful nothing else was harmed.

“I just think there was an angel watching over my shoulder,” she said.

Even a windy day is more complicated than it seems.

Strong winds will continue surging until Sunday, when a high-pressure system in the upper atmosphere is expected to weaken enough to allow a smaller, ground-level high-pressure system to move away from the Great Basin, returning more seasonal weather to Orange County.

But sunshine today and Saturday will create strong afternoon winds, said Wes Etheredge, a forecaster for WeatherData, which provides weather information to The Times Orange County. Winds generally strengthen in the afternoon as the sun heats the earth, allowing warm air to rise from the ground and cooler, blustery air from about 5,000 feet to swoop earthward, he said.

The good news is that all that dry air blowing out to sea means there will be little moisture coming ashore once the high-pressure systems move on, he said. Monday carries a slight chance of scattered showers, but otherwise the weather should be good well into next week, he said.

Times staff writer David Reyes and correspondent Hope Hamashige contributed to this story.