Power restored to thousands after damaging winds cause outage

PORTER RANCH, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Strong winds blew through the Southland Friday, leaving thousands without power.

As many as 23,000 people were reported without electricity by 11:30 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. By Friday evening, about 2,000 were still left in the dark, officials said. The power was fully restored to all but 88 customers by early Saturday morning, the utility said.

The following areas were affected: Harvard Heights, East Hollywood, Silver Lake, Westlake, Pacific Palisades, Hollywood, Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw, Valley Village, Korea Town, Northridge, Van Nuys, Canoga Park, North Hollywood, Sylmar, Reseda, Palms and Faircrest Heights.

The LADWP said crews were working to restore power as quickly as possible despite the heavy winds blowing tree branches, palm fronds and other debris into the path of power lines.

The powerful north, northwest winds also toppled trees onto several cars and brought down a massive one that blocked a roadway in Northridge.

Another large tree blocked the southbound 405 offramp at Burbank Boulevard, but Caltrans crews were able to use chainsaws and remove the tree quickly.

High wind warnings and wind advisories were issued for much of the Southland as gusts could be as fast as 45 mph. High surf advisories were also issued for the Ventura and Los Angeles county coasts.

Red flag warnings in Riverside this weekend will have extra fire crews on standby. On Friday, winds helped a brush fire in Santa Clarita burn more than 30 acres before crews contained it.