Wild Weather Wreaks Havoc In SoCal, Topples Giant KFC Bucket In Long Beach
LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Wind, hail, rain and even snow whipped through the Southland, toppling a massive Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket in the process.
The large bucket fell near the drive-thru entrance of a KFC restaurant in Long Beach around 5:15 p.m. Monday.
Though employees say the area is known for being windy from time-to-time, the gusts were exceptional reaching 50 miles per hour.
"It didn't smash any cars over here so we feel very lucky," said Shahid Chaudhry, the restaurant's owner. "It's sad. This is our trademark. We love this sign."
He hopes to have the sign replaced soon but is thankful no one was hurt.
"Actually, I was driving around because my house has no power because of the wind," said Nelly Marquez, a KFC customer. "So, I was just driving around and I stopped and saw that. It's crazy."
The Long Beach Fire Department says it has received 12 separate calls of downed power lines.
In Santa Clarita, strong winds were being blamed for damage after a 1,200-pound steel awning landed on vehicles after flying into the air.
"It was almost like a superhero movie," said Rob Martin, the manager of Big John's Performance in Valencia.
Martin says he heard noise and then screaming before the awning came crashing down on cars he had just been working on.
"This was pretty incredible. Winds are pretty known here. We have very, very windy days but today was out of the ordinary," he said.
The wild weather followed a mostly sunny day, catching many off-guard.
Near the 210 and 605 freeways interchange in Irwindale, a lightning strike was captured on video.
Elsewhere in the mountains, both Big Bear Lake and Wrightwood got some snow.
There have been no reports of injuries.