Tens of thousands of Los Angeles County residents were without power early Saturday after Santa Ana winds as high as 70 mph knocked down trees and power lines and temporarily closed part of a freeway.

More than 54,000 customers — mostly in the San Fernando Valley — lost power shortly after 3 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Crews worked through continuing winds and had restored power to all but about 9,000 customers by  Saturday night.

The strongest winds hit the mountain regions, such as the Malibu Hills, the Topanga area and the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, said Curt Kaplan of the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

“They got hit pretty hard,” he said.

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