Resident Unhurt as Dwelling Destroyed

A Santa Clarita man received a surprise visitor early Thursday.

John Mitchell was in the bedroom of his mobile home when the top of a 60-foot eucalyptus tree uprooted by the wind crashed in on him about 8 a.m. Mitchell escaped injury, but his Sand Canyon Road home was demolished.

The 35-year-old electrician, who had lived in the mobile home park for about six months, moved into a nearby unit, neighbor Richard Needham said.

The remnants of Mitchell’s home will be crushed and recycled, Needham said.

The porch of another mobile home nearby was also damaged by the tree, which measured about 5 feet in diameter.

Gusty winds chilled the Southland on Thursday, battering trees and buffeting vehicles as temperatures dropped to the 30s and winds in some areas reached 50 mph.

The volatile winds are especially dangerous to high-profile vehicles such as tractor-trailer trucks and campers, but authorities warned all drivers to use caution.

“It is important to keep both hands on the steering wheel and slow your speed down,” said Officer Richard Perez, a California Highway Patrol spokesman. “If a sudden gust of wind does move your car, you’ll still have control of it.”

Santa Ana winds and a cold air mass moving through the area are being blamed for the recent weather conditions, according to the National Weather Service.

“We do get this situation every year, several times, especially in winter. This year it has been quite strong, especially in the San Fernando Valley,” meteorologist Bruce Rockwell said.

A wind advisory was expected to be in effect until 3 p.m. today. Winds are expected to taper off in the afternoon, but it will be breezy over the next several days, Rockwell said.

High temperatures today are expected to range from the 50s in Newhall to the 70s in Burbank and Woodland Hills. Saturday will be clear with temperatures from lows in the mid-40s to highs in the 70s.