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Trees down, power cut as fierce Santa Ana winds hit Ventura County

A driver was critically injured when he was trapped by a fallen tree branch in Ventura Sunday afternoon as gusty Santa Ana winds hit the region, bringing dangerous fire weather and some power shutoffs to Ventura County.

The trapped driver was reported around 12:20 p.m. on Colton Road, near Kimball Road, in east Ventura. The intersection lies between Telegraph Road and Highway 126.

The driver, a Ventura man in his mid-50s, had been traveling westbound on Colton in a van at the time, said Ventura Police Department Cmdr. Sam Arroyo. The department's initial investigation indicated a tree branch broke off in the gusty conditions and landed on the van. No one else was in the vehicle.

Ventura City Fire Department crews extricated the man from the van. He was taken by ambulance to Ventura County Medical Center with critical injuries as crews performed life-saving measures, authorities said. Ventura police traffic investigators were still at the scene Sunday afternoon, Arroyo said. No additional details were available as of 8 p.m.

The National Weather Service had issued a red flag warning for Ventura County and much of Los Angeles County starting at 9 a.m. Sunday. The warning, which indicates conditions that allow wildfires to spread rapidly, was set to expire at 3 p.m. Monday. Fire departments beef up staffing when red flag warnings are issued.

Wind concerns also prompted the city of Ventura to close Arroyo Verde Park, Grant Park and the Botanical Gardens Sunday, officials said on social media. A downed tree had blocked the entrance to Arroyo Verde Park, where crews were clearing away the blockage. Elsewhere around the city, workers were removing downed trees and cleaning roadway debris, officials said.

The parks were expected to reopen late Monday or Tuesday morning. Ventura residents were told to report downed trees or areas where debris had blocked roads by calling 805-652-4550.

Ventura appeared to bear the brunt of Sunday's wind-related problems. Law enforcement agencies for other cities and unincorporated county areas said they had not received reports of significant damage or injury as of early afternoon.

Strong winds lifted flags at Ventura Harbor Sunday afternoon as Santa Ana winds brought red flag conditions to Ventura County.
Strong winds lifted flags at Ventura Harbor Sunday afternoon as Santa Ana winds brought red flag conditions to Ventura County.

More than 2,500 Ventura County customers had their power proactively cut for much of the day, according to Southern California Edison. As of 3 p.m. Sunday, 2,561 customers were without power, mostly in the unincorporated Santa Rosa Valley and in a section of Ventura east of Grant Park, Edison's map showed.

By 8:15 p.m., 573 customers remained without power.

The utility was monitoring thousands more local customers throughout the day for potential cutoffs under the so-called "public safety power shutoff" program. The number stood at 5,078 as of 8:15 p.m. The circuits being monitored were in and around Moorpark, Santa Paula, Fillmore, and Simi Valley.

Under the program, Edison and other California utilities proactively shut down circuits to prevent equipment from sparking wildfires when dry, gusty conditions bring heightened fire risk.

Wind gusts had blasted some areas overnight, the weather service reported. At least three stations in interior and coastal valleys had recorded gusts above 60 mph as of 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Elsewhere around the county there were widespread reports of gusts topping 30, 40 and 50 mph at various weather stations.

Lisa Phillips, a meteorologist with the weather service office in Oxnard, said strong gusts would likely continue through Sunday evening before gradually tapering off Monday.

More Santa Ana winds are possible starting Wednesday, she said. Early forecasts indicated the next event could arrive late Wednesday morning and stick around until Friday afternoon. The time frame includes Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday.

During the next Santa Ana event, winds aren't expected to be as strong, Phillips said. However, relative humidity is expected to be lower, with the dry conditions possibly bringing more dangerous fire weather.

While temperatures were warm Sunday, pushing into the mid-80s in Oxnard and Camarillo, they weren't expected to break records, as happened during the previous Santa Ana event this month.

Looking ahead, temperatures were expected to cool slightly on Tuesday but could inch back up into the 80s on Thanksgiving Day.

Check back: This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Winds bring dangerous fire weather, power shutoffs to Ventura County