Though high-wind warnings were issued Thursday for parts of Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties, winds were generally moderate there with no reports of major damage. The strongest winds hit San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
At about 8:15 p.m. Thursday, 50-to-60-mph winds blew down utility lines near Julian, a Cuyamaca Mountains town about 40 miles northeast of San Diego, sparking a small fire, said Matt Streck, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry.
The agency's 18 San Diego-area stations are normally closed this time of year, but eight were kept open as a precaution because of low moisture levels. The stations responded immediately to the fire and stopped it from spreading beyond a 3-acre area, Streck said.
Several other small fires broke out in the nearby Ramona area, but all were contained by about 2 a.m. Friday, Streck said.
Gusts hit 78 mph at Fremont Canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains between Orange and Riverside counties, and 65 mph in Rialto in San Bernardino County.
The winds shut down a stretch of southbound Interstate 15 near San Bernardino, but it was later reopened, said Janice Young, dispatcher for the California Highway Patrol. A lane on a section of westbound Interstate 8 in San Diego County was also temporarily closed and several big rigs were diverted off the highway, the CHP said.
Four big rigs on Inland Empire freeways were blown over onto their sides, but no serious injuries were reported. Several drivers opted to pull over and wait for winds to die down.
Dell and Barb Winnett, of Spokane, Wash., were heading south for the winter in their new motor home when it started weaving and they had to stop.
``We were just looking for some sunshine,'' Dell Winnett said. ``Now we're here just watching the dust blow.''
