High wind warning issued for SCV

A firefighter works to pull hoseline off the side of reserve engine 5134 near Westinghouse Place and Avenue Stanford during the Rye Fire on Dec. 5, 2017. Austin Dave/The Signal
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Santa Ana winds that whipped a spark into a raging 7,000-acre brush fire and caused more than four dozen cases of trees and branches crashing onto roads and sidewalks Tuesday are forecast to return Thursday, just as strong and destructive.

Metrologists with the National Weather Service issued a high wind warning and red flag warning Wednesday, advising Santa Clarita Valley residents of the same sort of weather punch felt here Tuesday.

Their latest high wind warning, marked “urgent” reads: “extended period of moderate to strong Santa Ana winds through Friday with periods of damaging winds.”

The same warning was issued Monday in advance of Tuesday’s destructive winds, clocked at gusts of 70 miles an hour.

The winds – Santa Ana winds sweeping across the SCV from the desert to the ocean – fanned a small fire on Rye Canyon Loop in Valencia into a brush fire that burned 1,000 acres within three hours, 7,000 acres in the space of 24 hours.

The Rye Fire remains at 7,000 acres and still just five percent contained, with at least 775 firefighters still battling the blaze.

Shortly after noon Wednesday, the fire crossed the Ventura County line, Pono Barnes, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department told The Signal.

“It’s about one mile inside Ventura County, it just crossed the Ventura line,” he said. “The fire is on the southern border of the (Highway) 126.

The Rye Fire remains at 7,000 acres burned and five percent containment, Inspector Randall Wright, of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

And, of the hundreds of people displaced the fire, all were allowed to return to homes, offices and classrooms evacuated Tuesday.

Residents of Travel Village mobile home park on Highway 126, west of Interstate 5, were allowed to return to their homes at 10 a.m., Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station said.

“Winds are expected to increase again tonight (Wednesday) and Thursday and continue through Friday,” the latest high wind warning reads. “During the stronger periods damaging wind gusts of 60 to 80 miles per hour will be likely across the mountains, and damaging gusts up to 60 miles per hour will be possible across wind prone portions of the valleys in western Los Angeles and eastern Ventura Counties.”

What happens with winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour in Santa Clarita Valley?

If Tuesday was any indication, then the answer is: much damage can be done.

City of Santa Clarita public works crews responded to at least 48 incidents of trees or tree limbs sent crashing down onto roadways and sidewalks with strong destructive winds.

City of Santa Clarita spokeswoman Carrie Lujan shared a list of the tree-falling incidents with The Signal.

They include:

– Delight Street – Branch from parkway tree fell and is blocking sidewalk

– Copper Hill Drive – two trees down in the third lane of travel on Copper Hill between West Creek and Rio Norte in the east bound lanes.

– Magic Mountain Parkway – pepper tree down, blocking three lanes just west of McBean Parkway.

– Shinedale Drive – tree fell onto driveway and street.

– Cantos Drive and Espuella DRive – large pine on private property reported ready to fall.

– Blueridge Drive – tree down, blocking street

– Waterford Drive & Fairview Drive – tree down and blocking half the street.

– Sageview Court – tree fell from slope area onto homeowner’s driveway.

– Guilford Lane – Tree fell onto the street.

– McBean at Summerhill – tree blocking sidewalk

– Wellhaven – fallen branch

– Magic Mountain Parkway – fallen Pepper tree limb.

– Alicante Drive – a paseo tree fell near a house.

– Whites Canyon Road near Nadal Street – Leaning Palm near Monterro Ridge Apartments.

– Railroad Avenue – Tree branch fell on sidewalk causing a hazard on Oak Crossing road and Sierra Estates Drive

– Delight Street – limb down.

– Rye Canyon Road west of Newhall Ranch Road – eucalyptus tree down and blocking sidewalk only.

– Lochmoor Road – down branch.

– Shinedale Drive – Down limb. Whole tree is gone.

– Henry Mayo @ Orchard Village – Tree down. Big eucalyptus.

– Delight Street & Honby Avenue – down limb.

– Valencia Boulevard – tree down at entrance to Westfield Valencia Town Center mall entrance mall. sidewalk blocked

– Walnut Street – tree failure.

– Fremont Court & Avenida Standford – tree fell on car

– Oak Ridge – small eucalyptus tree damaged by wind in need of removal.

– McBean @ Gold’s Gym – Eucalyptus tree down.

– Via Labrada – large branch from a paseo tree fell.

– Soledad Canyon Road and Deep Creek Drive – tree branch fell in median.

– Mountain View Condos – tree branch fell on garage.

– Newhall Ranch Road & AVenue Tibbitts – eucalyptus tree fell.

– Railroad and Oakridge – tree down

– Walnut Street & 8th Street – branch down

– McBean Parkway & Skycrest Circle – Down eucalyptus tree.

– Railroad @ Oakridge – two trees down, half in the street.

– Weathersfield Drive – ree on hillside fell into a fence and into yard, worry about eucalyptus tree falling too.

– Woodfield Place – City tree fell into private backyard.

– Via Escovar – City tree fell onto front yard causing some damage.

– Chesebrough Park – broken branch reported.

– Heritage Park – broken branch.

– Newhall Ranch Road – Median closed for clearance due to fire damage from Rye Fire.

– Coldsprings Place – tree that fell over into the backyard, sitting on the wrought iron fencing.

– Meadow Mont Street – near Mill Valley, tree branches fell.

– Poplar Street – tree branch fell and almost hit the neighbors car.

– Belle Rive Drive – tree Branch fell, blocking driveway, also fell On neighbor vehicle

– Santa Clarita Park – two downed trees; one near pool and one near tot lot.

– Valencia Glen Park – branch down behind tennis court

– Sports Complex – tree down on slope next to skate park.

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