Stagecoach hit with strong winds, dust

As Stagecoach took over the Empire Polo Grounds, dusty, gritty gusts quickly turned into the main attraction.

“It got windier and windier as the night went on,” said Amy Lawrence of Agoura.

“There was dust blowing on us. Rocks, pebbles, everything was just blowing around like crazy,” said Jacquie Flahive of San Diego.

“At one point it got so windy, all the garbage from the lawn was blowing across and getting stuck to your boots,” said Emily Chambers of San Francisco.

The wind was so bad outside the festival it knocked down a row of traffic barriers. For some it was bad enough to forfeit seeing Friday’s headliner, Eric Church.

“It was just a bunch of dust. It was in your mouth, in your nose, your eyes. You couldn’t see anything and it was not worth staying around and seeing the show,” said Jason Molgren of San Diego.

Those who stayed said the wild weather shook the speakers during Church’s performance.

“At one point Eric Church said ‘They told me to stop playing because it’s too windy,’ and he kept playing,” Chambers said.

And if the sandy conditions weren’t bad enough, temperatures dipped dramatically. Most festival goers were unprepared for the sudden chill.

“I thought it would be 90 degrees at night and it felt like it was below 30,” Flahive said.

“It was freezing, we were all huddled together under a blanket someone gave us,” Chambers said.

For night two of the festival they all planned to bundle up.

“Bring a jacket, that’s a start,” Lawrence said.

“Flannels, socks, boots, I’m going to be decked out all country but of course warm,” Flahive said.