By NBC Los Angeles and msnbc.com staff
More than 100,000 homes remained in the dark?Saturday after this week's powerful windstorms raked Southern California,?utility official says.
In Los Angeles, about 24,00 residents were without power, while in the San Gabriel Valley, about 96,000 customers were affected, utility officials say.?
A?small army of 100 workers planned to work around the clock this weekend to restore power, Maychelle Yee, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power told City News Service.
"At this time, the current estimated duration of power outages is 24 to 48 hours from the start of an outage," Yee said. "However, a very small percentage of our customers may experience outages lasting more than 48 hours. For these customers, we ask for your patience as crews continue to work to restore your power."
Also, many parks and buildings remain closed amid concerns of what the red flag warning would bring. A red flag warning for much of the area will take effect at 6 a.m. and last until 2 p.m. Sunday.
Gene Blevins / Reuters
A man looks at uprooted trees which have fallen on cars after a heavy wind storm in the morning at Highland Park in Los Angeles on Thursday.
"The potential exists for another round of gusty northeast winds this afternoon into Sunday over Los Angeles and Ventura counties, with very low humidities,'' according to a National Weather Service advisory.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl L. Osby ordered 290 additional personnel and other resources pre-deployed in preparation for Saturday's predicted high winds and increased fire danger.
The National Weather Service forecast Santa Ana winds blowing through Sunday afternoon and increasing the fire risks for L.A. County.
Thursday's winds -- the worst seen in the region in decades -- uprooted trees, sheared off thousands of tree limbs and caused high-power lines to topple, wreaking havoc with power supplies throughout the area.
Red Cross and shelters
The South Pasadena Senior Center at 1102 Oxley St. was turned into a shelter by the city Friday to help residents without power, according to South Pasadena police.
"The shelter will remain open for residents without power or heat and no other options for off-site shelter for the duration of the outage,'' according to the police.
Red Cross resources were also being brought in to help make those seeking shelter as comfortable as possible, police said, adding that animals could be boarded through the Pasadena Humane Society. No animals were permitted in the shelter, police said.
Pasadena, one of several cities to declare a local emergency Thursday, reported that all its major streets had reopened, as were most of its secondary streets. About 99 percent of Pasadena Water and Power customers had service restored Friday, City Manager Michael Beck said.
Four people were injured in the storm, and 37 people were taken to a temporary shelter at the Robinson Park Recreation Center. All but one was relocated late Friday.
"Despite some continued challenges, Pasadena is returning to normal,'' Beck said, adding that cleanup in the hard-hit city could take several weeks. "City resources will remain devoted to restoring services, parks and parkways to the high standards our community expects and deserves."
More than 600 trees fell, and the number of damaged street trees was unknown. There were 67 trees that fell at Brookside Golf Course and 120 more were severely damaged. The number of trees that fell or were severely damaged in city parks is unknown.
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