Strong Winds Fell Trees; Man Is Killed

Fierce winds knocked down a 45-foot tree in Simi Valley on Saturday, killing a man who was playing tennis, and the gusts fanned fires and downed power lines throughout Southern California.

Brian W. Smith, 51, was pinned under the tree about 1:30 p.m. at the Oakridge Athletic Club on Erringer Road, police said.

About 10 club members rushed to the tennis court and pulled the tree off the victim, who died a few minutes later at Simi Valley Hospital, police said.

Winds reaching speeds of nearly 50 mph wreaked havoc in Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties.

Nearly 80 firefighters descended on a wind-buffeted hillside neighborhood of half-million-dollar-plus homes in Orange on Saturday morning to battle a blaze that destroyed one house and ignited three spot fires nearby.

Forty- to 50-mph Santa Ana winds and a wood shingle roof sent glowing embers floating through the northeastern Orange County community.

The house was destroyed, but neighbors and firefighters said they were relieved the fire didn’t spread.

“It could have been hundreds of houses,” Orange Battalion Chief Frank Eickhoff said.

“With these kind of fires on a Santa Ana wind day, you have the potential of having a Laguna or Oakland Hills.”

A 1993 Laguna Beach wildfire destroyed more than 300 homes. In 1991, an Oakland Hills fire destroyed 3,000 homes.

No one was hurt in the 8 a.m. fire in the 3400 block of East Westridge Drive, where Mike Ernst, his wife and three children had been living for several years. The family paced the street, cried and sought comfort from friends as they watched the house burn.

“I was in the shower; I smelled smoke,” said Amy Ernst, 18, the only family member at home when the fire broke out.

Capt. Mike Tuggle said the teenager woke up a friend who was asleep in another room. Both young women told firefighters they saw flames coming from the garage.

The sprawling two-story house was gutted, as was a small sedan parked in the driveway.

Investigators determined that a malfunctioning water heater caught fire in the garage and flames quickly roared through the home. Fire officials said the structure and contents were valued at $1 million.

Warnings for high winds were in force for much of Southern California on Saturday, and were expected to continue through much of today, according to the National Weather Service.

In Los Angeles, the Fire Department declared Saturday a “red flag day,” a condition in which winds exceed 25 mph and humidity remains below 15%, spokesman Bob Collis said.

The department staffed several fire stations in the San Fernando Valley, including Chatsworth and Sherman Oaks, with an extra engine and 15 more firefighters.

Crews responded to nearly a dozen downed or drooping power lines and were on hand for possible brush fires, Collis said.

Southern California Edison spokesman Steven Conroy said the power outages were widespread, hitting parts of Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties.

The National Weather Service issued high wind warnings for the mountains in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, as well as for the Inland Empire and the Ventura coast.

Winds were 35 to 50 mph in some areas, with local gusts over 60 mph. The warnings were expected to continue through 2 p.m. today, meteorologist Chris Jacobson said.

“Overall, this has been a pretty quiet year in terms of wind,” Jacobson said.

“This is probably the strongest stint we’ve seen so far this season.”

The California Highway Patrol issued its own wind advisories, urging trailers and campers to reduce speeds or stay off the roads until the winds die down.

“They’re very unpredictable,” Officer Ed Lopez said.

CHP advisories were in place Saturday on the Foothill Freeway near Altadena, on the Antelope Valley Freeway and at the 215 and 91 freeways in Riverside.

Times staff writers Holly J. Wolcott, Louis Sahagun, David Haldane and Stuart Pfeifer contributed to this report.