Downed Power Lines: 70 MPH Winds Strike Los Angeles

Winds played havoc in Los Angeles on the evening of October 25, 2009 as 70 mph winds snapped power poles and loosened power lines from their moorings sparking small fires across a wide portion of the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood Hills. Hundreds of calls were received for downed power lines and downed tree calls across the City and County jurisdictions.

The strongest wind gust were recorded above Castaic near Warm Springs at 70 MPH with sustained gust at nearly 50 MPH. Van Nuys recorded gusts of 55 mph, while Santa Monica reported gusts of 41 mph late Tuesday.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a windblown dust and ash advisory for sensitive people in the Coachella Valley in Riverside County. Wildfire-ravaged areas in the San Gabriel Valley were also expected to reach unhealthy levels for sensitive people, the agency said.

In Los Angeles, 23,100 customers were without power as of 9 p.m., according to the city's Department of Water and Power. The DWP serves a total of 1.4 million electricity customers.

Among the hardest-hit Los Angeles neighborhoods were Hyde Park, where 3,441 customers were without power, and Northridge, where 2,947 had no electricity, the utility said.

The DWP said crews were working to restore power in affected areas.

In areas served by Southern California Edison, about 16,000 customers were without power as trees and wind-blown debris snapped power lines, the utility said. The power outages ranged from beach communities in the South Bay and Orange County to foothill neighborhoods in the San Gabriel Valley.

In Huntington Beach, about 4,300 customers had no electricity, and 3,500 more were without lights in Arcadia, said SCE spokesman Gil Alexander. He said crews were trying to restore power.

"They expect to be working much through the night," Alexander said.

At LAX, strong winds this evening forced one arriving flight to be diverted to another airport, said Allen Kenitzer, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

He said the winds, which were gusting up to 35 knots, forced two other flights to use "missed approach" procedures, meaning each had to make two attempts to land. Both flights landed without incident.