CLAREMONT, Calif. (CNS) — Strong winds wreaked havoc in the city of Claremont this weekend, damaging homes, toppling trees, downing power lines and leaving up to 20% of its residents without power.
The worst of the damage came late Friday and early Saturday, and city officials are still coordinating the cleanup effort.
"Last night's wind storm caused widespread damage and power outages," the city tweeted Saturday. "City crews are prioritizing calls to address immediate safety hazards. Clean up will be ongoing over the next few days."
The damage also resulted in the closure of the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park until further notice, officials said.
The Alexander Hughes Center at 1700 Danbury Road was open for residents needing water, shelter, and charging phones and devices.
The giant coastal live oak in the city's Memorial Park and the last remaining eucalyptus on College Avenue, which was planted by the city's founders, were among the trees felled by wind gusts of up to 65 mph, the Claremont Courier reported.
A home in the 100 Block of E. 11th Street was damaged when a giant pine tree across the street toppled, the newspaper said. There also were reports of trees falling on cars and homes along Monte Vista, just north of Foothill and near Claremont College.
At least 1,300 homes were without power and traffic signals on Foothill Boulevard were not working, according to resident reports on social media.
As of 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Southern California Edison reported 107 power outages in Los Angeles County affecting 21,580 customers and four in Orange County affecting 288 customers. Some outages began late Friday and estimated times for restoration were not available.
The outages were affecting several cities, including Claremont, Monterey Park, Glendora, San Dimas, Rosemead and South Pasadena.
"Closing in on 24 hours since the #SantaAnaWinds killed the power in pasadena," former television news anchor Jeff Michael tweeted. "And ??@SCE?? SoCal Edison has not given us ONE update. Even called and the guy had NO info. My 100-year-old dad, staying in a hotel tonight. You think Edison will pay for it? ??"
Edison tweeted back: "Hi Jeff, thank you for reaching out. Strong and damaging winds have impacted SCE's service area. Crews are being reassigned to areas with outage problems. We understand not having power can be disruptive so our crews are working to restore power as quickly as safely possible."
City officials in Claremont were asking residents to report damage and safety hazards to Claremont Police Dispatch at 909-399-5411.
Trash bins also have been set up at several city parks where residents can discard tree branches and other debris. The bins are located at the following parks: La Puerto, Griffith, Wheeler, Blaisdell, Cahuilla and Chaparral.