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Wild Winds Knock Down Trees, Power Lines Around Southland

LOS ANGELES (AP) —  High winds swept through Southern California on Monday, knocking down trees and power lines that led to thousands of outages and kicking up dust storms that forced street closures.

Afternoon winds gusted up to 67 mph in the desert city of Lancaster, north of Los Angeles, prompting authorities to shut down several blocks hit by the dust storm, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Maggie Lane said.

She said low visibility may have contributed to a two-car crash in the area.

Los Angeles fire officials were trying to determine if winds knocked over a big eucalyptus tree onto a house in South Los Angeles. A 59-year-old man inside the home ducked for cover when he heard a loud bang, fire department spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

The man was taken to a hospital for minor abrasions, Humphrey said.

The winds downed 30 power poles in Rosamond, north of Lancaster, and electrical lines in Barstow, Apple Valley, Simi Valley and the Frazier Park area, causing outages to more than 5,700 Southern California Edison customers, utility spokeswoman Lois Pitter Bruce said.

Power has been restored to most of those customers, she said.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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