Stronger Gusts Due : Winds Down Power Lines

Strong Santa Ana winds buffeted Orange County on Wednesday, downing power lines and causing brief power outages, sparking small fires, blowing the awning off a mobile home and knocking a door off a garage, authorities said.

Winds had gusted up to 40 m.p.h. during the day, and were forecast to continue through the early morning hours today, reaching speeds up to 60 m.p.h. before tapering off in the afternoon, said meteorologist Rick Dittmann of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for the Times.

“The worst will be over by afternoon,” Dittmann predicted.

Gusty northeasterly winds whipped power lines, causing power outages that knocked out electricity to about 4,000 customers in central Orange County. Southern California Edison Co. officials said that in most cases, the outages lasted 12 minutes or less.

About 10:30 a.m. in Santa Ana, gusts tore an aluminum awning from a home in the Sahara Mobile Home Park. Winds carried the 50-by-8-foot awning into a nearby tree, cutting into a power line in the process. About 90 mobile homes in the park were without power for a few hours, Edison workers said.

Sparks from the line also burned a small area of dry grass, Santa Ana fire officials said.

In Garden Grove, a downed power line ignited a small brush fire that was extinguished before firefighters arrived, Fire Department Battalion Chief Joe Chandler said.

A few hours later, Chandler said, high winds blew a garage door off its hinges and into a gas meter, causing a leak. Garden Grove firefighters were able to turn off the gas, he said.

While the Santa Ana winds meant trouble for many, they improved air quality, South Coast Air Quality Management District spokesman Bill Kelly said.

“The winds have blown (air pollutants) out,” Kelly said.

The U.S. Coast Guard had issued a small-craft advisory Wednesday, but the Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol reported no emergencies or damage caused by the wind by late afternoon.

Wednesday’s temperatures ranged from an overnight low of 32 degrees in Santa Ana to a daytime high of 65 in San Juan Capistrano. Today’s forecast called for sunny skies and slightly warmer weather, with the highs in the low 70s.

At Civic Center Plaza in Santa Ana on Wednesday, some people considered the winds a minor annoyance.

Working at a hot dog stand, Salahuddin Ahmandzia said he didn’t put up a big red umbrella over his stand because the last time the wind was blowing hard, it hit him in the head.