Man Killed as Wind Fells Tree

A 51-year-old Simi Valley man died Saturday when he was struck by a large tree that toppled in powerful winds, authorities said.

Brian W. Smith was pinned beneath the 45-foot tree about 1:30 p.m. while playing tennis at an athletic club in the 2600 block of Erringer Road, police said.

About 10 club members pulled the tree off Smith, who was pronounced dead a few minutes later at Simi Valley Hospital, police said.

Wind gusts toppled trees and power lines throughout the county, knocking out power for tens of thousands of residents and sparking a small brush fire near a school.

The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for the area through noon today, warning motorists of strong gusts in the mountains and valleys.

“We occasionally get this much wind when we have high and low pressure systems around. At least I can say it’s warm and sunny,” said Bonnie Bartling, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

Bartling said gusts of nearly 50 mph were reported in Camarillo and Simi Valley. There were gusts of up to 42 mph at Oxnard Airport, she said.

High temperatures throughout the county were expected to be in the 70s today with nighttime lows in the mid-50s to high 40s, Bartling said. The area’s dry spell will continue with sunny skies and no rain in the forecast.

State lifeguard John Regan said nearly 1,000 people flocked to Ventura beaches to walk, picnic and fly kites. Several dozen surfers hit the water. Regan said the waves were coming in 3- to 4-foot sets.

Strong winds snapped several eucalyptus trees along California 126 between Ventura and Santa Paula. The falling trees pulled down power lines and forced the closure of highway lanes in Santa Paula and an offramp in Ventura.

In Thousand Oaks, a 100-foot tree fell across a swimming pool and onto a guest house at a home near California 23. No one was injured.

Authorities said a tree fell into a garage in Simi Valley, but there were no injuries.

Six power poles snapped next to Mesa School on California 118 between Saticoy and Somis, authorities said. The downed lines started a small brush fire that closed the roadway for about an hour.

More than 50,000 customers across the county endured outages between 30 seconds and several hours long, said Ernie Villegas, a Southern California Edison spokesman.

The largest affected areas were in Fillmore, Piru and Moorpark, where several hundred customers--including businesses in downtown Santa Paula--were without power for most of the day.

“Almost all of this is from fallen palm fronds or trees or tree limbs,” Villegas said. “Any time you have a windstorm, it’s the worst because it affects everything, everywhere.”