Fierce Santa Ana winds flip big rigs, prompt the closure of Balboa Park after trees fall

Santa Ana winds gusting upwards of 90 mph exploded through San Diego County on Thursday, flipping over big rig trucks, causing power outages and closing Balboa Park where more than 30 trees fell, including many that stood 80- to 100-feet tall.

Falling trees contributed to the city’s mid-morning decision to close the Balboa Park Golf Course, Presidio Park and Chollas Lake, and to tell employees working in Balboa Park, as well as its museums and other cultural institutions to leave for the day.In downtown San Diego, downed palm trees forced the closure of a ramp from north state Route 163 to north Interstate 5 about 11 a.m.

Interstate 8 in East County — a natural wind tunnel — was hit hard, resulting in three big rigs flipping over near Crestwood. Two of the rigs were heading west and one was on the eastbound side of the interstate, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Latulippe. Shortly before 8 a.m., an 80- to 90-foot eucalyptus tree fell onto a woman near the intersection of Balboa Drive and El Prado in Balboa Park, pinning her underneath it. She was conscious and complained of pain to her hand and head and was taken to a hospital, San Diego police said.

Shortly after 11:30 a.m., a woman became trapped in her Scripps Ranch townhome when three large trees fell over, one of them blocking her door, San Diego Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Josh Slatinsky told OnScene TV. Firefighters helped her escape through a window. Two of the trees — each about 100 feet tall — fell simultaneously, crashing onto garages and seriously damaging two of them. A vehicle outside a garage was damaged.

Children play on a playground a few hundred feet from where a tree fell Thursday in Balboa Park, near the intersection of Park Boulevard and Stitt Avenue.

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