Winds Topple Trees and Cause a Power Outage

Heavy winds Saturday sent giant oak trees tumbling and caused a daylong power outage in Thousand Oaks, but meteorologists say the gusty weather won’t disperse storms expected to drop as much as an inch of rain by Monday.

A storm system should reach Ventura County by this afternoon. Forecasts call for a 70% to 90% chance of showers through Monday, with dry weather expected Tuesday and more showers Wednesday.

“By the time people get up Monday morning, we should have about an inch of rain,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford.

Temperatures today are expected to reach the mid-60s with lows in the 50s. Cooler weather is expected Monday, with highs in the 50s.

For farmers, more rain so soon after last week’s showers isn’t necessarily a good thing, said Ventura County Farm Bureau spokesman Rex Laird.

“It would be better if it was spaced out a week from now,” Laird said. “As the soil becomes more and more saturated, more of it is going to run off.”

Although most crops are nearly saturated, the total rainfall for the season is still about 50% below average, he said.

“We’re a lot better off than we were at Christmastime, but we’ve got a long way to go,” Laird said. “We ought to be thankful for getting what we’re getting.”

Storms expected today were originally forecast for Saturday but were delayed by a barrier of dry wind that sent gusts up to 27 mph across area roadways and caused power outages in Thousand Oaks.

Saturday’s warm winds originated in the deserts of Nevada and Utah, gathering heat as they descended California mountains and pushed through the canyons to the coast, said Wofford.

“It’s kind of like a Santa Ana wind,” he said. “When air flows through narrow canyons it speeds up. That’s why we get the real gusty winds.”

The wind speed peaked before dawn Saturday, prompting the California Highway Patrol to issue an advisory to motorists about 2 a.m.

Deputies with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spent Saturday morning responding to burglar alarms set off by the wind. Despite the dramatic gusts, there were no reports of wind-related injuries in the county.

About 3:45 a.m., some 40 homes in Thousands Oaks lost power after winds blew tree branches onto a power line, said Southern California Edison spokeswoman Nancy Williams. Crews expected to have service restored by 8 p.m.

Homes without power included those near Coventry Circuit, Rolling Oaks Drive, Sundown Road and Colt Lane, said Williams.

In Ventura, gusts uprooted a 40-foot oak tree about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, missing Roger Thompson’s house by a few feet. The tree crashed onto his truck moments after he entered the vehicle and blocked a portion of Glen Ellen Drive in the midtown neighborhood.

“I dove into the cab,” said Thompson, 27. “It basically fell right when I got inside the truck. All the neighbors started running out. They thought I was trapped inside.”

Thompson escaped injury. The tree broke a headlight and scratched the hood of his truck.

Two city workers spent several hours with chain saws cutting the decades-old oak, which had stood about four stories high, into pieces Thompson said he’ll use to build lawn furniture.