Winds Capsize Boat, Trigger 6 Home Fires; Man Feared Dead

Santa Ana winds gusting up to 60 m.p.h. Thursday afternoon capsized a boat in Pyramid Lake, apparently drowning a man, and propelled a brush fire onto the roofs of six West Los Angeles homes, causing more than $100,000 in damage.

A 3-year-old boy who was pulled from the wind-whipped Pyramid Lake after the boat capsized was in stable condition, according to sheriff’s deputies. But the youngster’s father, Howard Green, 34, of Reseda, was missing and presumed dead.

Emergency crews--hampered by 60 m.p.h. winds and near-zero visibility--were dispatched to the dam area at the north end of the lake in the Tehachapi Mountain foothills about 12:15 p.m. The boy, Daniel Alan Green, was unconscious when he was pulled from the water. Paramedics were able to revive him and he was flown by helicopter to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, where he was in fair condition, according to Los Angeles County fire officials.

The child was wearing a life vest, but his father was not, authorities said.

Sheriff’s divers called off their search for the father at nightfall. Efforts were expected to resume this morning.

The winds were also blamed for spreading flames to six West Los Angeles homes. Los Angeles Fire Department officials said the blaze on Greenfield Avenue, just south of the Santa Monica Freeway, began in the brush along the side of the freeway and was propelled by strong winds to six homes.

Fifteen engine companies responded to the blaze that began at 3 p.m. and was extinguished about an hour later, according to Fire Battalion Chief Carlton Callaway.

One home sustained $70,000 in damage to the roof and second story. Damage to the roof of another home was estimated at $20,000. Four other homes sustained minor damage. No injuries were reported.

The strong winds began Wednesday night and downed power lines and rattled windows in several areas of the Southland. The National Weather Service recorded gusts of 45 to 50 m.p.h. in the foothill communities of the north San Fernando Valley.

But the winds caused only a few scattered power outages.

Meteorologists said the winds will continue through much of today before dissipating on Saturday, leaving the Southland with pleasant, spring-like weather.

“It’s going to be a real nice weekend,” said Dan Bowman of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times. “Temperatures will be in the 70s. The winds will be light and there’s going to be plenty of sunshine.”

Bowman said the winds were not as bad as expected. He attributed the gusts to a collision between a high-pressure system along the coast of Oregon and a low-pressure system over eastern Colorado.

“The air tends to flow from the high-pressure to the low-pressure area, and strong winds are left in its wake,” he said. “That same low-pressure system is producing blizzard conditions in Nebraska and Wyoming.

The Los Angeles Civic Center high Thursday reached 70 degrees after an overnight low of 54. Relative humidity was minimal, ranging from a high of only 24% to 11%.