California winds bring wildfires, power outages to thousands
LOS ANGELES » A windstorm that fanned brushfires, toppled trees and left thousands of Californians without power focused its remaining energy Wednesday on the southern end of the state, where forecasters warned of the additional threat of heavy rain and flash flooding.
Strong winds were forecast through the day before tapering off. A low-pressure system moving across northern Baja California was expected to draw subtropical moisture into the region during the night, the National Weather Service said.
Winds gusts of 35 mph to 50 mph were reported in many canyons, valleys and coastal areas with gusts of 60 mph or more recorded in the mountains.
Flash-flood watches were posted for the eastern mountains and deserts and snow was expected at elevations of 5,500 feet (1,676 meters) and higher.
Utilities, meanwhile, were dealing with power outages resulting from a combination of wind damage and public safety power shutoffs intended to prevent sparks from downed or damaged equipment rom starting fires.
Southern California Edison’s website showed around 18,000 of its 5 million customers remained intentionally blacked out early Wednesday.
Pacific Gas & Electric intentionally shut power to around 5,000 customers in the northern and central areas of the state and was busy restoring power to around
286,000 customers who lost power due to severe weather. Most were expected to have their electricity restored by day’s end.