Santa Ana Winds Blow Into County
Santa Ana winds rattled Ventura County on Saturday, fueling a small brush fire in Santa Paula and shattering a large glass panel on an office building.
Gusts topping 40 mph were reported in Simi Valley, with 25 mph winds in Point Mugu and Camarillo, according to the National Weather Service.
Weather experts warned that warm easterly winds up to 50 mph were expected to blow through the area today.
Vladimir Ryshko, a meteorologist for the weather service in Oxnard, said officials expect “impressive” winds today and Monday from Santa Barbara to the San Fernando Valley.
The winds are caused by a ridge of high pressure building in the interior of the West Coast, near the Mojave Desert and the Nevada border, he said.
No advisories have been issued, but Ryshko said a wind warning could be issued this morning. Easterly winds can be destructive in areas such as Channel Islands and Ventura harbors, he said.
Weather service officials urged boat owners to move vessels to sheltered areas and urged residents to secure large, floppy objects, such as patio umbrellas.
On Saturday, palm trees bent in the wind while drivers struggled to keep light cars steady on local freeways.
Winds topping 20 mph fanned a brush fire about 1:45 p.m. off South Mountain Road and 12th Street near Santa Paula, prompting the Ventura County Fire Department to respond with more than 100 firefighters.
The blaze, which occurred near a labor camp at a lemon company, was held to about five acres and extinguished in two hours. The cause remained under investigation.
About 3 p.m., emergency workers were called to a three-story office building in the 700 block of Main Street, also in Santa Paula, after an 8-by-4-foot glass panel between the second and third floors shattered.
Capt. John Harber of the Santa Paula Fire Department said strong winds rattled the building and likely shattered the glass.
No one was injured. The building houses several Ventura County government offices and a field office for Supervisor Kathy Long.
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Staff photographer Bryan Chan contributed to this report
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