Winds Sweep Through Northern L.A. County

Santa Ana winds discombobulated Santa’s helpers Monday, whipped Christmas shoppers around parking lots and blasted debris throughout northern Los Angeles County.

Gusts of up to 68 mph blew through local mountains, and winds up to 35 mph haunted valleys and canyons. More breezes were expected today as the National Weather Service gave wind advisories for mountains, valleys and canyons.

On Monday, Melissa Denney of Chatsworth chased a plastic shopping bag of holiday cards in the parking lot of the Northridge Fashion Center. “It’s like the wind just took it from me,” she said.

The winds were localized in the northern reaches of the county--Northridge, Chatsworth, Santa Clarita and the San Gabriel Valley, said National Weather Service meteorologist David Sweet. The strongest gust at 68 mph was recorded near Castaic Lake.

“The conditions [Monday] just favored the northern valleys,” he said. “I could do a whole semester seminar on why, but just take it that it’s like that sometimes.”

An early morning gust blew a corrugated metal roof from a mobile home in Chatsworth. High winds hampered firefighters battling a small brush fire off the Antelope Valley Freeway in Santa Clarita. Palm fronds skimmed end over end in Northridge.

Emergency agencies reported no major trouble. Local airports kept regular flight schedules.

Ventura County did not fare so well. Southern California Edison reported brief, periodic power outages in the eastern and northern parts of the county, mostly in Thousand Oaks.