Flustered by bluster

Deepa Bharath

Blustery Santa Ana winds swept cleanup crews in both cities from

one location to another Monday as workers spent almost all day

removing fallen tree branches and fixing downed power lines.

No traffic accidents were reported in either city as a result of

the wind, but Newport Beach police said a tree fell on a car and

damaged it in the 500 block of Fernleaf Avenue in Corona del Mar.

Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Shulman said officers responded

all day to car and residential alarms going off.

“Signs from businesses were also falling on cars in different

areas,” he said.

One such incident occurred in the 6300 block of West Coast

Highway, Shulman said.

“We’ve just had a very, very busy day,” he said.

Costa Mesa Public Services office staff echoed the same sentiment.

“We don’t have anybody in our office right now,” said the person

who answered the phone. “Everybody is out responding to calls about

the wind.”

A high wind advisory for the area went into effect Monday

afternoon and is expected to stay in place until about 2 p.m. today,

said Noel Isla, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San

Diego.

Winds were blowing at speeds of 30 to 40 mph, with 65 mph gusts,

he said.

A small craft advisory was issued for Newport Harbor where winds

gusted at about 45 mph during certain periods.

“It’s pretty common for this time of the year,” he said. “It’s

something you can expect to occur on and off during the fall and

winter months.”

Costa Mesa saw some of its larger trees toppled, said Bill Morris,

director of public services.

“That kept us busy most of the day,” he said. “We also had a lot

of branches down and tons of palm fronds.”

Morris said the city just didn’t see the high-speed gusts coming.

“It took us by surprise,” he said. “We didn’t expect the winds to

be this intense. The gusts seemed more than normal for Santa Ana

winds.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].