Desert Winds

Last night, we had winds coming in from the west that were sustaining gusts of 70+ mph. That is a ferocious wind, especially for cars on the freeway and power poles.

My neighbor called me in a panic about 9:30 pm, when she went to the back slider to let the dog in and saw a power pole almost ready to rest on her roof. The pole at the back of her property had pulled out of the ground and was being restrained by the other neighbor’s brick wall. The pole danced in the wind, so when she asked me what she should do, I told her to call 9-1-1 and stay out of her backyard.

Thankfully, both the police and the power company responded quickly, but there isn’t much anyone can do in winds as strong and steady as we experienced last night. Giving in to tired, I crawled into my bed after 11 pm, deciding that what was going to happen was going to happen. I awoke this morning to an upright power pole with some workers at the top finishing the fix. The winds are gearing up again, so it’s nice to know that the pole is back in the ground – for now.

The blowing sand obliterated the interstate, as well as all lane markers and street signs. There will be many claims for wind damage to homes, as well as vehicles, when the wind finally blows itself out.