Clean up continues after winds whip through parts of Coachella Valley

Strong winds blew in a big mess for law enforcement, firefighters and neighbors in La Quinta Thursday night.

“I thought it was unusual the winds were going this way and that way in a swirling fashion. It caused a lot of destruction,” said a La Quinta woman.

“We had very high winds, particularly in the south part of the city. It downed a lot of trees and put a lot of debris on the streets and we’ve been busy cleaning it up since about 1:30 this morning,” said La Quinta Public Works Director Tim Jonasson.

First things first, the city’s making sure this debris gets removed from the roads and next week will get to work to replant trees that got knocked down.

Some trees were bent and broken, others blanketed sidewalks on Avenue 52.

“The biggest damage that I saw was just trees and large diameter trees that we lost,” said Jonasson.

Crews spent the Friday picking up the pieces.

“They were right on it. I was impressed,” said a La Quinta resident.

Meanwhile at La Quinta City Hall, leaves, branches and dirt remain piled up. Thursday’s gusty and dusty conditions sure made for a busy Friday.