Photo by Jenny Kirchner
During the high winds Saturday, a tree fell across power lines on Upper Rim Rock Road. Some residents in upper Fern Valley were without power until Monday.
Saturday’s strong winds blew steadily all morning in Idyllwild. Gusts were between 40 and 50 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service site.
About noon, a tree fell in Fern Valley and much of that area lost electrical power until midday Monday. According to Southern California Edison, about 366 homes were still without power at different times during the interruption.
One reader, Colleen McDonald, wrote, “As you know, we live up in Fern Valley where the poles and wires went down in the wind. What we would like the Crier to know is that we did not see any SCE workers for approximately 19 hours (6 a.m. the next morning) after the incident.”
However, while reporter Marshal Smith, a FV resident, did not observe any SCE personnel in the neighborhood, he said a friend and Fern Valley Water District employee confirmed that SCE trucks were on the lower part of Upper Rim Rock nearer the incident of the tree.
On Saturday, Upper Rim Rock was closed at both ends of Fern Valley Road. Rim Rock Road near Cougar also was closed after electrical lines were down at about six different power poles.
Later in the afternoon, a large tree fell on a garage and also pulled cable lines down near Lodge Road. The house didn’t appear to be damaged, according to photographer Jenny Kirchner.
Before the tree fell, there was concern of fire at the Idyllwild Pharmacy. Local fire departments were summoned to Idyllwild Pharmacy because of a smell of burning wires. Idyllwild Fire Department and Riverside County Fire from Station 23 investigated and found a malfunctioning heater.
