Strong winds create havoc throughout the region

Dry north winds blasted Southern California on Thursday, downing scores of trees and power lines, cutting visibility to near zero in some inland valley areas and fanning a brush fire at the north end of Beverly Hills that destroyed one multimillion-dollar home.

It was the latest in a string of rare winter and spring brush fires during the driest year on record in Southern California, which has firefighters on edge.

The Beverly Hills blaze broke out about 1 p.m. in the 1300 block of Beverly Drive and was fueled by thick brush in nearby Franklin Canyon.

A second home was severely damaged and a third sustained damage to the roof. Officials noted that all three homes had highly flammable wood shake roofs.

More than 200 firefighters from the city of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Los Angeles County, aided by water-dropping helicopters, battled the blaze. It was started by a power line probably downed by the winds, said L.A. Fire Capt. Antoine McKnight.

Winds kicked up so much dust that visibility was down to two miles Thursday afternoon in the San Fernando Valley. In the Antelope Valley, visibility was near zero.

“It’s as bad a dust storm as we can get,” said Ryan Kittell, a National Weather Service forecaster.

The high winds knocked out power to almost 120,000 customers, said Kim Hughes, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. She said it would take up to two or three days to restore all lost power.

The majority of the outages were in the San Fernando Valley, Eagle Rock, Hancock Park and South Los Angeles, she said.

A Southern California Edison spokesman said 89,000 of its residential and business customers lost power for a time, primarily in San Bernardino County and the San Gabriel and Antelope valleys.

Further inland, the winds caused havoc for drivers.

Two men in separate vehicles were killed in a 17-car pileup in Newberry Springs, east of Barstow, according to the California Highway Patrol.

An estimated 30 cars were involved in accidents along Interstate 40 in San Bernardino County amid dust storms packing 50 mph gusts. Strong winds also caused trucks to overturn and shut down a portion of Interstate 10 in Palm Springs.

“It’s just a mess out there today,” CHP Officer Steve Goforth said.

Swirling winds of up to 50 mph also pounded Los Angeles County. A 26-year-old man was hit by a small piece of a sign at Universal City Walk, fire officials said. He was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.

Forecasters said the winds that lashed the region were caused by an unusual weather pattern in which the jet stream dipped over Southern California coupled with winds behind a cold front that passed through the area overnight.

Cold, dry winds in the upper atmosphere hit speeds of 140 mph. Closer to the ground that translated to wind shear and turbulent gusts, Kittell said.

Throughout the day gale warnings were posted along much of the coast, while the mountains and deserts were under high wind warnings.

In Los Angeles, the power outages forced many officers onto the streets to direct traffic, as city crews attempted to remove trees from roadways.

The fire in the Beverly Hills area was fueled by a dangerous combination of high winds and bone-dry conditions.

Scott Windus, 57, who owns a home on the street where the blaze erupted, said the power in his house went out about 12:30 p.m.

Windus said he looked out a second-floor window and saw the wind-whipped flames on the hills behind some homes, including the one that was destroyed.

“It’s surprising it didn’t take out more because [the wind] was blowing so hard and embers were everywhere,” he said. “It took out some pine trees and avocado trees, and that’s when it jumped over the street, straight into that house.”

About 200 people were evacuated from the neighborhood, fire officials said. They were allowed to return about 5:30 p.m.

About 1 1/2 years ago, Beverly Hills passed an ordinance requiring residents to replace wood-shake roofs with fire-retardant roofing by 2013. After viewing the fire, Mayor Jimmy Delshad said he would ask the council to consider moving up the deadline.

Sharon Sistine, 64, who lives across the street from where the fire started, said brush had not been properly cleared in the area. She said she had called the DWP, which city officials said appears to own the property, and the Fire Department about the hillside.

“We get this letter to clear all the time and we do it,” she said. “This was an accident waiting to happen.”

Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss, whose district covers the fire area, said he would introduce an emergency motion today to call on DWP officials to explain what happened to their power lines and their brush clearance efforts off Franklin Canyon.

The winds hit L.A. neighborhoods such as the South Robertson-Beverlywood area where, at the corner of Pico Boulevard and Livonia Avenue, a 1984 Toyota Cressida was crushed by a tree that was blown down about 2 p.m.

David Castro, 22, a construction worker on a job across the street, said that just before the tree toppled, “The wind was so strong I had to close my eyes, but then I heard a big crack. I turned around and saw the tree fall right on top of the car.”

The car’s owner, Maya Karayeva, a cashier at a nearby market, said she discovered the damage after she left the store to check out the noise outside. “I was very sad,” she said. “That’s been my car for many years. Now I guess I’ll have to get a new one.”

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Times Staff Writer Tony Barboza contributed to this report.