3 injured at Disneyland when strong Santa Ana winds topple light post in heart of park
Winds were gusting as high as 48 mph when the light post fell in the Main Street area around 8:30 a.m., Anaheim Fire officials told FOX 11 Los Angeles.
3 Disneyland visitors injured after lamppost falls on them due to strong Santa Ana winds
Three Disneyland guests were hurt - one suffering serious injuries - after strong winds knocked down a lamppost that fell on them, officials said.
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Three people were injured at Disneyland on Monday – one seriously – after strong Santa Ana winds toppled a light post inside the Anaheim amusement park’s main square.
The lamp post fell in the Main Street U.S.A. area around 8:30 a.m., and the seriously injured victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment, Anaheim Fire officials told FOX 11 Los Angeles.
The victim's condition has not been released. Two others injured were treated at the scene.
Winds at nearby John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana clocked multiple gusts over 40 mph Monday morning, with a peak gust of 48 mph, the National Weather Service in San Diego reported.
The light post was located in a flower bed in the Main Street square and was used for stage lighting for parades and shows, according to the Orange County Register.
The storm also blew over a Cessna 172 that was parked at John Wayne Airport, FOX 11 reported.
A parked Cessna 172 flips over in strong Santa Ana wind gusts at John Wayne Airport on Nov. 20, 2023.
(FOX 11)
"This aircraft was actually tethered to the ground down there parked and those high winds picked it up this afternoon and at one point flipped it over," reported Stu Mundel with FOX 11 Los Angeles. No one was hurt.
John Wayne Airport officials posted on X that airport operations were only briefly delayed.
Gusts reached over 80 mph in the eastern mountains
At least two other semi trucks blew over on the eastern valley freeways as the Santa Ana winds roared through the mountains, FOX 11 reported. While gusts reached as high as 60 mph in the inland Orange County areas, the winds howled over 80 mph in the Santa Ana Mountains, including a peak gust of 89 mph at Santiago Peak, according to the NWS in San Diego.
High Wind Warnings and Wind Advisories were in effect across much of Southern California from Monday into Tuesday morning as the Santa Ana wind pattern continued.
The Santa Ana winds are a frequent nuisance in the Los Angeles and Southern California region in the fall and winter as cool domes of high pressure settle into the interior West.
"There is typically a strong high pressure that parks itself over the Great Basin, and you have a complimentary low pressure off of the California Coast, and that creates a really strong gradient," John Abatzoglou, an associate professor of climatology at the University of California Merced, told FOX Weather. "Basically, the winds respond to that gradient."
Stronger events can bring gusts up to 80 mph or more. The dry, offshore winds can also exacerbate fire conditions as humidity levels drop, making fire starts easier, and the winds fan any wildfires burning in the area.