Gusty SoCal Winds Topple Trees, Leave Thousands Without Power

Gusty winds pushed their way through Southern California overnight, toppling trees and leaving thousands of people without power Wednesday morning. Power lines were knocked down in more than 15 locations after they were hit by damaging winds, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power tweeted Wednesday. The Los Angeles Metro area to the south of Hollywood Hills was among the hardest hit, according to the LADWP.

Thousands without power

Power outages peaked at 42,000 overnight, with about 33,000 customers still without power as of 5:30 a.m., the department tweeted. Customers should plan to possibly be without power for 24 hours, according to the LADWP. Southern California Edison was reporting just under 4,000 outages as of 4 a.m. The National Weather Service is expecting widespread winds, with gusts between 60 and 70 mph, to continue through Wednesday morning.

Tree topples onto apartment building in Westwood

In Westwood, a large tree toppled onto an apartment building that was undergoing some type of construction. Video showed the tree still leaning against the building Wednesday morning. People did appear to be living in an area of the building that was not struck by the tree.

Downed trees reported across the Southland

One tree crushed a police cruiser in Mar Vista. The officers were not injured in the incident. Crews needed to be called to the Jefferson Park area after a tree fell and blocked several lanes of the 10 Freeway near Crenshaw Boulevard. The lanes have since reopened. Officials have warned drivers, especially those in high-profile vehicles, to be careful while traveling on Southern California freeways and highways.