Wind damages lines and leaves hundreds without power; fire burns cabin

By KRIS REILLY
Editor

High winds left some of Lucerne Valley without power over the weekend, but local authorities received no reports of injuries or major damage.

The only major incident during the Jan. 21 windstorm was a fire that burned an uninhabited cabin on Baker Road, though authorities were uncertain if the fire had anything to do with the wind.

Gusts estimated to be at least 50 miles per hour kicked up during the night, damaging a power line in southern Lucerne Valley and leaving 479 households without power at about 1:40 a.m. Saturday.

Southern California Edison spokeswoman Nancy Jackson said many customers had their electricity back on by 4 a.m., but a few had to wait until about 4 p.m. until power was restored.

Wind damaged another power line in northern Lucerne Valley later Saturday morning, leaving 29 households north of Cove Road without power from 9:50 a.m. to about 8:30 p.m., Jackson said.

San Bernardino County Fire Captain John Borowski said Station 8 in Lucerne Valley received no reports of injuries or damage to homes on Saturday, though a mysterious fire burned the abandoned cabin on Baker Road in southern Lucerne Valley.

Local resident Bill Irwin said he noticed the fire around noon and tried to put it out with his fire extinguishers, aided by a few Edison workers who were in the area to fix the damaged power line.

“There was no way we could stop it,” Irwin said.

The cabin was a total loss, but firefighters were able to prevent the blaze from spreading, Borowski said. (Borowski is a new captain at Station 8, recently taking over for retired Captain Tracy Wood.)

Borowski said the cause of the fire is unknown and is still being investigated.