High Wind, Red Flag Warnings Issued For San Gorgonio Pass Area
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Strong Santa Ana winds swept through parts of Riverside County over the weekend and now much of the region is experiencing the gusts that are expected to continue Monday and Tuesday, raising fire risks, forecasters said.
A high wind warning is in effect through 2 p.m. Tuesday the western part of Riverside County, including Beaumont, according to the National Weather Service.
Forecasters warned that the area is experiencing northeast winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts to 65 mph. Isolated gusts of up to 80 mph are possible, with the strongest winds near the coastal slopes of the San Bernardino County mountains and near the lower coastal slopes of the Santa Ana Mountains. The strongest and most widespread winds are expected from mid morning through Monday afternoon.
"Damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines," the NWS said. "Widespread power outages are possible, and travel could be difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles."The agency also warned that the winds, accompanied by low humidity levels, will elevate the fire danger in wind-prone areas.
A red flag warning is in effect through 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Riverside County mountains, the Inland Empire and the San Gorgonio Pass.
Southern California Edison said 4,775 customers in Riverside County could have their power shut off Monday due to the elevated fire danger.
The Glen Avon neighborhood in Jurupa Valley and the Cabazon area were being monitored by SCE for potential shutoffs.
"When there are potentially dangerous weather conditions in fire-prone areas, we may need to call a PSPS event. During these events, we will proactively turn off power in high fire risk areas to reduce the threat of wildfires," SCE said.
Throughout the Inland Empire, downed power lines were reported Monday, triggering electrical outages that affected several thousand people.
According to Southern California Edison, one of the largest outages was in Jurupa Valley, where damaged lines caused a blackout impacting 1,451 customers in the predawn hours. Technicians were still working to make repairs as of 10:30 a.m.
In Rancho Mirage, nearly 1,000 SCE customers lost service Monday morning due to an equipment failure that was likely wind-related.
Similarly, in Menifee, just under 1,000 homes and businesses experienced an outage amid the windstorm, while in Norco, about 200 were impacted, according to SCE.
Smaller disruptions were reported in other communities, including El Cerrito, just south of Corona, where 160 SCE customers were in the dark, and in Mead Valley, just west of Perris, where an outage was affecting 66 households, the utility said.
Winds in the Riverside metropolitan area turned fierce about 3 a.m., and as of 10 a.m., Riverside Municipal Airport was reporting northerly winds averaging 22 mph and gusting to 45 mph.
Blowing dust was also shrouding the field.
In Palm Springs, winds were milder, averaging 15 mph and gusting to 25, according to Palm Springs International Airport. Meanwhile, in Temecula, they were blowing between 15 and 23 mph.
SCE announced the possibility of public safety power shutoffs, during which utilities are authorized to preemptively deactivate lines in fire-prone areas. However, as of 10 a.m., the utility had not taken such precautionary measures in Riverside County.
This article originally appeared on the Banning-Beaumont Patch
