Disneyland COVID-19 vaccine site shuttered amid Santa Ana winds

Erin B. Logan
·2 min read
Anaheim, CA - January 13: An Anaheim firefighter takes the temperature of Orange County active Phase 1A (critical and healthcare workers) residents as they enter large tents at Orange County's first large-scale vaccination site to receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in the Toy Story parking lot at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. Orange County supervisors and Orange County Health Care Agency Director Dr. Clayton Chau held a news conference discussing the county's first Super POD (point-of-dispensing) site for COVID-19 vaccine distribution. The vaccinations are at Tier 1A for people who have reservations on a website. The site is able to handle 7,000 immunizations per day. Their goal is to immunize everyone in Orange County who chooses to do so by July 4th. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A man's temperature is checked at the Disneyland COVID-19 vaccination site in January. Strong Santa Ana winds on Thursday forced the site to close. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Powerful Santa Ana winds gusting through Southern California have closed the Disneyland vaccination site and triggered wind and ash advisories, officials said.

Gusts up to 55 mph are expected in coastal and valley areas, with 60- to 75-mph blasts in the mountains of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Monica counties, said David Sweet, a meteorologist National Weather Service in Oxnard.

Winds in the San Fernando Valley were clocked at 85 mph.

The forecast prompted the closure of the COVID-19 vaccination at Disneyland, Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett tweeted. Heavy winds could topple the large white tents set up in the theme park's parking lots.

This isn't the first time heavy winds or inclement weather has shuttered the vaccination supersite. In January, strong winds forced a two-day closure at the Anaheim site. And last week, supply delays caused by severe weather across parts of the U.S. led Orange County officials to close many vaccination centers, including the one at Disneyland.

More than 600,000 vaccines have been distributed in Orange County, according to The Times tracker. Over the last seven days, an average of 12,444 doses per day have been given out in the county.

The site is expected to reopen Friday if winds subside. Forecasters said the gusts are expected to peak Thursday, but another strong wind event is expected this weekend.

"We're expecting strong winds to continue today," Sweet said. "Winds will peak a little while after sunrise then drop off rapidly this afternoon."

A high-wind warning is in effect for the mountains and the Santa Clarita Valley through Thursday afternoon. An advisory for coastal and valley areas will end at 3 p.m.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District also issued a windblown dust and ash advisory for portions of Riverside and San Bernardino counties through Thursday evening. High winds could whip up ash from recent wildfire burn scars, including the El Dorado fire and the Apple fire.

Forecasters predict another high wind event this weekend.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.