Hopes of a wet and cloudy December were crushed Tuesday as a dry wind whipped through campus, picking up dust and knocking down anything in its path..
At 2:26 a.m. Tuesday morning, a wind advisory notified residents in Los Angeles County of high Santa Ana winds that aren’t expected to die down until Thursday. The National Weather Service warned freeway commuters to be aware of gusty crosswinds, power outages, falling trees and power lines.
Due to turbulent weather, professor of international studies Yousef Baker said he had trouble setting up bulletin boards outside Liberal Arts 4 for his students to present their research papers. According to Baker, the class posters were left flying around.
“We had to up our push pin game, so we have a lot more push pins,” Baker said.
Junior child development major Alexandria Rafferty said that the weather was confusing.
“I wore my Uggs, sweater, and thought ‘OK. I’m going to be nice and cozy,’ but it’s hot,” Rafferty said.
Besides his papers that flew around in the wind, junior environmental science and policy major Jason Martinez said he is enjoying the weather.
“I like this sudden change in temperature,” Martinez said. “From hot a few weeks ago to a little chillier.”
The wind was also reported to be the cause of a raging brush fire that sparked in Ventura County Monday night. Officials struggled to contain the fire Tuesday due to the strength and direction of the wind. According to the L.A. Times, power outages have hindered firefighters from containing the fire due to their water system’s reliance on electricity.
According to ABC7, the fire was at zero percent containment by 5 p.m. Monday and 27,000 people had been evacuated from their homes.
California governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Ventura County following the spread of the massive fire. In October, high winds fueled northern California’s brush fire. The L.A. Times reported that the recent Santa Rosa fire burned about 37,000 acres and about 40 people were killed.