Wild winds topple trees, cause damage in West Hollywood

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- Blustery winds whipped across the Southland, toppling trees, causing damage and increasing fire danger amid dry conditions.

The wind toppled over a large tree along the 1000 block of Laurel Avenue near Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. The tree fell on three unoccupied cars.

"There was just a loud bang. I thought it was just a huge car accident or something had fallen or something crazy," said Melissa Monteavaro, a West Hollywood resident, who said she had to park on the next street due to the debris.

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No one was injured, but the cars sustained major damage - two of the vehicles were totaled.

"This giant tree was just covering the entire street," described Michelle Morrow, another West Hollywood resident. Morrow called a friend to check where he was parked. Turns out, his car was one of the ones damaged by the tree.

There's not much to salvage, but still, Morrow is doing her best to find a bright side.

"How often does this happen? Maybe this is a stroke of good luck," she said, though her friend didn't appear too convinced.

Residents said the tree didn't appear to be in very good health, which they believe may have also been a factor in it coming down.

Some power outages were reported in the area, but Edison crews restored the electricity, sheriff's officials said.

Nearby in Hollywood, a light pole came crashing down after winds started picking up Thursday night.

The strong winds are also putting firefighters on high alert. A red-flag warning as well as a fire weather watch are in effect across wide swaths of Southern California through the weekend.

The Santa Ana winds are expected to flare back up later in the day Friday and continue on through the weekend, which is expected to be hot and dry, adding to the fire danger.

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