By Jim Holt & Tammy Murga
Signal Staff Writers
Strong winds ripped through the Santa Clarita Valley overnight Tuesday, uprooting a couple of trees and downing some branches.
Despite the winds gusting up to 60 mph in places, there was no report of injury, per local first responders reached Wednesday.
Firefighters and several local agencies are investigating the massive tree that fell onto a portion of the College of the Canyons Continuing Education building late Tuesday night.
The call came in at 11:55 p.m. for the investigation at the 26100 block of Bouquet Canyon Road, just south of Magic Mountain Parkway.
By midnight firefighters were waiting on the city of Santa Clarita’s Public Works Department and the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency to assist.
“We are waiting on Public Works to assist in cutting the tree and removing it,” said Michael Pittman, a dispatch supervisor with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, as of 12:37 a.m.
John Caprarelli, a building official with the city of Santa Clarita, said the building was yellow-tagged Wednesday morning, limiting occupancy and access to the building.
Yellow “caution tape” was placed around it so the public doesn’t enter the vicinity of the damage.
“There is moderate structural damage to the patio framing and a small portion of the roof framing of the building,” Caprarelli said. “A couple of tree limbs went through the roof, as well.
“We are requiring that an engineer’s plan be prepared, and we will review and approve those plans get approved to issue a permit so those repairs are made,” he said.
Wind-related damage was reported elsewhere in Valencia.
A small tree fell in a public area of Bridgeport and a tree limb fell from a tree on private property on Tupelo Ridge south of Copper Hill Drive.
Winds were expected to pick up again after midnight Wednesday.
Weather officials with the National Weather Service office in Oxnard issued a wind advisory Wednesday, notifying residents that between 2 a.m. and 2 p.m. Thursday they can expect strong winds.
Winds from the northeast are expected to be 20 to 30 mph, with gusts to 45 mph, strongest in the early morning to early afternoon hours across eastern Ventura County and western Los Angeles County.
The forecast calls for sunny and breezy conditions both Thursday and Friday, with Saturday and Sunday described as simply sunny.
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