Strong winds sweep through parts of California

Meanwhile, strong winds are raking parts of California on Wednesday, making travel difficult on some highways and raising the prospect of downed trees and power outages.

The National Weather Service said gust topped 70 mph in the hills north of San Francisco Bay and another gust hit 81 mph in northern Los Angeles County. The powerful winds were being caused by high pressure over the interior of the West creating flow toward the coast and offshore. It is also reported that a fire erupted on the Big Sur coast but was held to about 2 acres.